Perpetually Penelope
by AccioMidnight
Summary: Audrey Weasley is forced to take refuge with her husband's family when he is arrested for undermining the Ministry of Magic. A Percy/Penelope fic. DH AU
1. Chapter 1

_October 23rd 1997._

Molly Weasley paused her spell casting when she studied the hands of her family clock while the kitchen moved gracefully behind her, cleaning up after the rather extravagant display Fred and George had somehow made of her silverware overnight. She'd never get rid of those scratches.

Her twins gave her hell but she wouldn't have them any other way. George had always been the most affectionate of all her sons, always finding a way to charm his way out of trouble, whilst Fred got the earful. She held a hand to her ear and winced.

She remembered a time when the war was just ending and every witch and wizard was either looking over their shoulders for You-Know-Who or celebrating in the streets. Her twin boys had only been 2 at the time but they had a knack of knowing just when their mother needed a laugh. There'd been so few of them since her brothers had died. Ever since then, there'd never been a quiet moment in her home, whether it be because of the twins or the ghoul.

The all the hands on the clock twitched for a second but stopped before moving upwards completely.

She smiled for a moment as she recalled how the twins had modified the family clock to ignore mortal peril unless anyone was in extreme danger. Now, she could finally see exactly where her children were.

Bill was home, which Molly begrudgingly acknowledged was Shell Cottage now.

Charlie was at work. She hoped he would write soon. Her dragon tamer was famed for his lack of tact and timing; though she knew he enjoyed his job almost as much as- Percy. Tears gathered in her eyes, as they always did when she thought of her third eldest son. Percy's hand for the clock was stuffed into the dresser in a small kitchen cloth he used to favor. Fred and George had taken it off by some angry form of magic and she found her hands too shaky to replace it every time she tried.

Molly sighed and the ache in her heart doubled as Ron's hand continuously swayed between travelling and mortal peril. What on earth were they up to?

It was a shock when the hand moved away from the two and landed on visiting. She eyed it warily and wondered just who her youngest boy was visiting.

Arthur was at the Ministry. Ginny was stuck at the horrible school with Snape as headmaster. Fred and George were home, up in their room -plotting. Molly wished she knew where they were doing, but she knew the Order was making good use of her boys. Her gaze drifted to the dresser where her third eldest son's hand had been for two years now.

She had no clue where he was. She didn't know if he was eating well. She couldn't tell if he was tired or unhappy, or Merlin forbid; dead. They hadn't heard from or of him in ages. She recalled that he would set his tea down while reading and spotted the small groove in the wood from his cup, which hadn't been touched for some time.

She knew Arthur hadn't seen him around the Ministry. What if something had happened? Did he have a girlfriend? Was she a good girl? Was he in any danger? What if he was hurt? Would they be told if he was?

With a burst of motherly courage, she ransacked the dresser and wiped Percy's clock hand clean before pressing it into the clock.

It moved at a slow, antagonizing speed. Molly watched as it swung past home, school, and it made its way around the clock over and over again, as if trying to catch up on lost time. Before it stopped, Molly heard the tell-tale 'woosh' of her fireplace, alerting her that the Weasley emergency floo system had been used.

What she didn't expect, as she turned the corner to greet whichever Weasley had used the floo, was an unconscious and heavily pregnant woman to be bleeding on her center rug.

* * *

Fred and George Weasley felt their watches chill dramatically and immediately caught each other's eye. They vanished the finished potions to their secure storeroom at the shop before apparating into the kitchen.

"Wonder who's here. Dad's not likely for another 6 hours and that's if he makes the meeting."

"Couldn't be Bill or Charlie. Too early for those rocks."

A thought hit them both.

"Suspect Ron, Harry, and Hermione are back so soon?"

"Doubt it. Ginny?"

"Ginny's not leaving school, she's using our wares and getting into trouble."

Fred scowled. "That leaves one prat of a brother left to use the floo."

They frowned simultaneously as they made it to the small hall before the main room.

"Fred, George! Quickly!" Their mother's terrified scream had them rounding the corner with their wands drawn.

"Oh, put those away and help me get her on the couch!" Molly pressed her apron into the gash right below the woman's collarbone. Fred moved around his mother and George helped him move the familiar face to the couch.

"This is Penelope Clearwater.. I heard she was taken in for 'questioning'..." George caught his brother's eye and was sure the shock on his face looked just like Fred's.

As soon as Penelope hit the couch, Molly shouted orders at her twin boys.

"Fred, get my wand, it's on the dresser by the clock; George, go get a tub of hot water, but not too hot and a few washcloths." Molly lifted the cloth from the pregnant woman's chest and found that the bleeding was slowing.

Fred was back first and watched as his mother cleaned the blood off Penelope and herself before casting many a healing charm on the bloody gash. George returned soon after the wound was almost mended. The twins watched with quiet dread as their mother softly cleaned the remaining blood off the former prefect's chest. They watched their mother take a step away from the unconscious girl before her lip began to tremble.

"If this is Penelope… where... Where's my Per-cy?" She whimpered. George moved towards his mother as tears formed in her red rimmed eyes.

"Don't cry, Mum. I'm sure he's somewhere safe." He engulfed his mother into a hug and she wept against him. George frowned before placing his mother in her knitting chair. She sniffled into her sleeve before collecting herself with a deep breath.

"Fred. Check the clock. Where is Percy?" She had her eyes shut and Fred didn't spare a second before bounding towards the clock.

Percy's hand had finally stopped. Fred almost laughed at the absurdity of its position.

* * *

_"Percy, this entire situation with you at the Ministry has gotten completely out of hand."_

_"Please don't say it." He buried his face deeper into the crook of her neck and nuzzled into her hair. She could feel his long nose against her neck and his lips searching for a way to distract her. He was succeeding._

_Audrey gently moved his face away from her. "There's no choice anymore. You need to tell your family the truth. There is so much more at risk now."_

_He quickly returned to his hiding place in her long, curly hair. "This argument is vaguely familiar. They don't want me; and even if they did they'd never listen to me. They're in enough trouble as it is." His voice rumbled against her skin and she hummed in unwanted, maybe not so unwanted, pleasure before replying._

_"I'll go with you. I promise I will. They'll be so shocked, they'll forget ever being cross with you. But it's something you can't put off anymore. They have each other and we're alone. We don't have a chance of hiding on our own with two babies on the way. That old hag is getting suspicious, sending owls at every hour of the day. I think she's on to you."_

_"Old hag, am I?" A chill swept over their bedroom. Percy saved both of their lives when he pushed them both off the side of the bed furthest from the doorway. The bloody dagger fell on the other side of the bed. Audrey quickly yanked her wand from under the bed, and silently waited for a signal from her husband. She did not register the blood dripping down her shirt or the pain that radiated from her neck._

_"A-Audrey, go." It wasn't the signal. It was an order. Dolores smiled as Audrey paled and her wand shook in her hand._

_"Percy."_

_"Audrey, leave." Percy slowly made his way in front of his wife. "I love you all so much, you need to go."_

_Umbridge smirked. "Waddiwasi." Books flew from the shelves. Percy ducked and tried to repel all of them but one book flew past him and he heard a frightening thump. He felt Audrey fall behind him and he cast the necessary spell. A fireplace revealed itself from even further behind him along the wall. He managed to land a hex on Dolores but he knew there was a time limit on the statis spell. He gathered the small woman in his arms and placed a kiss on her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open._

_"Percy, come with me," She whispered. He took in a breath at the sight of the amount of blood dripping down his arms. She gripped his arms,"We can go together, please, Percy."_

_The way he shook his head crushed her._

_"Stay hidden. Be safe."_

* * *

Audrey woke with a start and almost rolled off the couch in her state of imbalance. Her feet stopped her fall and she sat up on the large couch.

"Percy!" Her head ached and her chest felt tight. She placed a hand on her belly to remind herself to calm down. She had to stay calm, she could not be stressed. She took in her surroundings and tears struck almost instantly.

She could be sad.

She released an anguished scream.

Molly, Fred, and George ran into the room and found her with her face in her hands, screaming and wailing about books and old hags.

"Sweetie, please calm down," Molly wrapped her arms around the trembling woman, "Please, tell me what's happened?"

George stared at the bulge and wondered just how Percy managed to make a real life away from them. He had figured Percy was a shell of a man without his family. Turns out he'd just made himself another.

Fred willed himself to stare at his mother's face instead of his future niece or nephew. They were going to have their hands even fuller with this new development.

Audrey stole some of her husband's Gryffindor courage and managed to reduce her wails to mere sniffles into Molly's shoulder.

"He- and Umbridge-in the flat. Mrs. Weasley, she came out of nowhere."

Molly stared at the bulge protruding from beneath the ruined pyjama top of the otherwise petite woman. "Penelope- I,- you and Percy-?"

"Not Penelope- But yes, we've been married for two years now," her bottom lip pouted once more, "I have to take the ring off because- my fingers- keep shrinking and swelling and it was getting t-tedious to keep charming it."

"Oh," Molly's heart broke with the knowledge she had missed one of her sons weddings, "how far along are you?"

Audrey finally stopped the tears and hiccups. "A bit more than s-six months. T-Twins."

This peaked George and Fred's interest very much. "Twins?" They chorused from the floor.

"I assumed you'd be familiar with such a term," she took in a shuddering breath and her skin took on an ugly dullness, "Now… have you heard from my Percy?"

Molly's heart tore at 'my Percy'. She had said the same thing so many times, all seeming too far behind her, and she idly wondered if she had lost the rights to such words.

"He's in Azkaban." Fred didn't dare look her in the eye.

Molly spent the rest of the afternoon watching Audrey sit completely still with tears

streaming endlessly down her face and wondering just how much of her Percy's life she had really missed. Audrey seemed to be thinking hard about something as she cried and she refused to talk about what had happened.

Fred and George had left hours ago, claiming Order business. Molly highly doubted it considering the twins had been constantly visiting Lee Jordan and escaping a crying pregnant woman was on their list of things to do before they, Godric-forbid, died.

Audrey was forced to sleep after a carefully placed calming draught in her tea and her own exhaustion brought her to lie on the sofa. Her dark curly hair fanned around her and Molly let herself dream up what her first grandchildren might look like. Would they look like Penelope? Or Percy? What if they didn't have red hair? Molly took a glance out of a window and realized that Arthur would be home very soon and she had yet to finish preparations for the upcoming Order meet up. She set the kitchen to work and made sure the girl was fine before collapsing into a chair at the dinner table to collect her thoughts.

_Percy_ was in jail. Her good boy, her lovely boy, one of her Head Boys- in _Azkaban_ of all places. She had had to check the clock herself because she thought Fred had been playing an awful trick.

The worst part was that she had no idea why he would be in jail in the first place. He was a good boy, who loved his job, no matter how far it separated him from his family. Penelope probably knew what it was.

Molly froze with a start. How well did she really _know_ her Percy, the older Percy, the Ministry's Percy?

She couldn't say.

Percy had gotten married. Without her. Married at nineteen, at that! What were they thinking?! Oh it had to be one of _those_ weddings. Molly paused in her line of thought. But then, where was that baby? Maybe she was wrong. She hoped she was wrong.

The timer for the roast rang and she heard Fred and George apparate into the foyer where Audrey was sleeping.

"Mum! Mum!" She flicked the fire off and quickly made her way to her panicked twins. They were pacing back and forth along the rug, with Audrey sleepily watching them.

"We've got to go, Mum, straight away."

"They're coming, they got Percy and now they're coming!"

Molly gasped and began flicking her wand to and fro, shrinking family heirlooms and banishing them to the empty cellar at Aunt Muriel's house.

"They wouldn't! Your father-"

"He's the one who told us to get you." Fred placed a hand on his mother's shoulder.

"Sent his patronus saying they would be here in an hour at least." George moved to help Audrey stand off the couch.

"We're supposed to go to either Charlie's or Aunt Muriel's place."

"We're on the run."


	2. Chapter 2

All three young adults turned to Molly. She took a moment to savor just how _small_ they all looked.

As she spoke, she realized that her 'war-voice' from the decade before had snuck back up on her.

"George, take Penelope to Charlie's. Then go to Aunt Muriel's and tell her we're going to stop by," Molly moved quickly to shrink the family clock and stuff it in her dress pocket, "We'll be going to Aunt Muriel's to get your father. And, George, please tell Charlie to be careful with setting his wards and that we'll be there as soon as we get your father."

Audrey was fully awake and George offered her his arm. They quickly entered the floo and were gone in a burst of flames.

"They're going to know Ron's not sick and Ginny's at school… Oh…" Molly's frustrated mutters filled the silence.

"I used to think this house was some sort of impenetrable fortress," Fred muttered to himself, "Now look where Perfect Prefect Percy has brought us."

Molly whirled around to face her middle child. "Do not blame this on your brother, it was bound to happen. Oh, he's being tortured, I just know it! My Percy! Tortured for information, on us!"

"Mum, I-.. I'm sorry," Fred noticed everything that was sacred had been vanished away, "You go ahead to Aunt Muriel's place. I'll do some damage."

Molly hugged him tightly.

"Be quick about it."

* * *

Audrey gasped as they exited the extravagant fireplace. Flooing took a lot more out of her these days. There would soon be a time where it would be impossible to do without fainting. Her arms were already developing bruises from where she'd wrapped them around to protect her protruding stomach. George's grip on her tightened and he led her to the largest area of the home.

"Charlie!" George set her near an open chair and started shouting around the house.

"Charlie!?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm right 'ere Georgie! What's the fuss about?" Charlie stood at the doorway between the kitchen and greatroom.

"We're becoming fugitives, what else? The Ministry has taken Percy. No clue why; but Dad says they're going to the Burrow."

Charlie peered further into the room and spotted the familiar figure. "Penelope?"

George blinked and looked between them in confusion.

"No one calls me Penelope anymore, Charlie. It's not safe... But it's... nice to see you again."

"Well… _this_ is new." Charlie gestured to her protruding pouch. Audrey rolled her tired eyes. She was getting rather hungry… She was quickly reminded that the last meal she had was dinner the day before and even then they had had it around 5. The twins were getting needy.

"Mum wants all the wards up. I'm going to Aunt Muriel's to meet up with them and we'll all be back when things are settled," George stepped in front of Audrey, "I leave the lady in your less than capable hands, brother. She's lookin' a bit peaky."

George winked before stepping back into the floo and in seconds he was gone.

"Would you like to tell me why my goody-good brother is in Azkaban?"

Audrey turned toward the second eldest Weasley son. She nodded as her stomach released a moan of protest. Noisy babies.

Charlie chuckled, "Don't fret; we'll talk after we feed your parasite."

They quietly made their way to the kitchen and as she sat; Charlie peeled an apple and charmed a cucumber to slice itself on a plate. Audrey smiled softly at the familiarity Charlie had with his kitchen. He sat across from her and a coffee mug sailed into his waiting hands.

"So?"

She took a steadying breath. "You will not interrupt; else I might not be able to finish."

Charlie nodded slowly.

"Percy… When he got the promotion after that Crouch fiasco, he went to your family looking for recognition and when your father implied that Percy hadn't gotten the job for his own work, he got upset and said all those horrible things; came straight to my flat afterwards. He was in a rage… But I've never seen him so vulnerable. He felt sorry right after he said it! He didn't want to face your family. And when your mother came and he panicked and slammed the door; oh he didn't sleep until I'd drugged him! I calmed him down and he told me exactly what had happened at the Ministry and at your parent's house. I admit he did take it a bit too emotionally, so I let him stay with me. But he… was still moody and sad. That night was far from what he expected, so I didn't say anything. But I heard him mumbling to himself about being stupid. He was so sorry and he wanted to apologize the moment he realized what he'd done.." Audrey slipped a slice of apple into her mouth before continuing.

"But he didn't, and he wouldn't listen to me at all. I…", she lowered her gaze to the table, "I got tired of his moping and gave him an ultimatum. I told him if he didn't figure things out in a week, that I would break up with him. Then he goes off and tells me this ruddy plan he has! That- That-! Look how much good it's done!"

Her eyes watered but no tears fell.

"I've gotten off track. As soon as he started working, he knew something was wrong. That's when that awful Umbridge toad showed her ratty old hag face." Charlie raised a brow at the angry expression Audrey had taken on.

"She was putting on Fudge to dismiss You-Know-Who altogether. And he did. Well, tried. Percy didn't just follow his orders. He made notes. He would bring them home and we'd transfer them to a book in invisible ink. All about what the Ministry was planning to do. We spent most of our free time trying to decipher them. That's also when we got married…" Audrey stopped and Charlie could see her hands clenching and unclenching around her top. She sighed heartbrokenly and continued.

"They made no sense put together. Not at the time. When Scrimgeour was made Minister, there were small clues in the notes, people went missing, but nothing clicked. Not until Dolores raved to him one day about the school; something about centaurs, and where muggle-borns… belong… and how she would run the Ministry. That's when we found out I was pregnant a-." Again. Audrey looked as though she could not continue, so Charlie waited as she collected her wits, "Then months went by and Dumbledore was killed. _Offed_. And Percy's notes started taking shape. There were people, high up in the Ministry, who were _there_."

"You don't know how hard it was for him to keep up his act! Especially with what happened to Bill. He-… Percy's a bit emotional, you know…"

"On the day the Ministry fell, Bill's wedding day, Thicknesse started a register. Percy was to keep track of who was coming in and who was - already dead. Charlie, he was so brave! He managed to send over thirty people a day to France and America. We thought it was going well and he had a good vantage point from within the Ministry and- I think we got a bit careless. That woman personally requested that.. that I be brought in for questioning two months ago. She knew we were married! We couldn't think, for all our wit, of a solution. Until Percy, he.. moved my…," she thumbed a long scar on palm of her left hand, "People believe that once a person turns 17, they do not have the trace from the Ministry. But that isn't true. They have an entire underground department dedicated to putting special traces on all suspicious staff and every muggleborn who passes through. Percy only knew because Fudge was so careless and afraid."

"He moved it to a woman in the morgue. Umbridge sent her condolences to him. It was awful, Charlie. It hurt so much. Their records say I'm dead. I'm not Penelope Clearwater anymore… She died months ago. I had to use an alias after that. Audrey Weasley...I sort of went into hiding in our flat, and Percy had to act as though I were really dead. It's an awful thing, you know, to have to believe that your spouse is dead. Those monsters used legimency on him, more than once. I had to find a boggart for him so he would have the memory." Audrey pushed away tears and took another snap at her apple slice.

"He wanted me to get out of the country, you know…" Her voice lost its strength and the quiver had become pronounced, "But I didn't want to l-leave him all alone. He didn't take that well. We had a row and… He left. He disapparated on the spot! I didn't see him for a week."

Charlie couldn't keep silent, "How could he do that?! You're pregnant! A blatant target! That prat-"

Audrey interrupted him softly. "It was a stressful time… But I have to say, it did hurt. It was the worst week, and I kept having to forge his hand when the Ministry sent owls about him missing work. When he came back….I'm sorry, I just- it's too- just can't…" She held her breath before skipping the event.

"And then today, or was it yesterday, either way, I was trying to convince Percy to tell your family the truth of what he was doing. He was trying to keep them away from his job! To keep them safe and under no suspicion that they were involved with him undermining the system! But before we could even get out of bed, that monstrous woman appears in our bedroom, wand drawn! She flung a dagger at us and Percy damn well saved our lives. She got me across the chest and Percy dueled with her."

"She kept flinging our books at us and I got bonked on the head. Heavy, Hogwarts: A History. Blacked out. Woke up at your parent's house," Audrey fiddled with the last of the cucumber before placing it in her mouth, "And now my Percy is in _Azkaban_ of all places."

Charlie sighed heavily and placed his forehead against the grainy table. _Percy, you complete idiot. You should have just said something!_ He quickly charmed the plates to dance into the sink and began to set up the wards around the entire house.

Audrey watched carefully from the front door. She fingered the sleeves of the long jumper she transfigured from her shirt. Percy was going to have a fit when he heard that she had told Charlie, who would tell the rest of the family. Her fingers left the sleeves alone and swept through her thick dark hair. She moved her gaze over the yard. Charlie seemed close to finishing the last of the wards and she stepped back into the house.

The house was small-looking from the outside and extravagant on the inside. The layout was slightly Burrow-esque in the winding staircase but had an inviting feeling, willing her to climb every stair and reach the skylight on the fourth floor. Charlie was doing extremely well on the reserve. Audrey plopped down onto the couch in the great room and let out a heavy sigh. Her children were not agreeing with her worried pacing.

Charlie's mantle was full of pictures. There were a few of Molly and of Arthur, of Fred and George in their shop, of Ginny and Ron at Hogwarts, playing Quidditch.

There was even one of Bill and Fleur's wedding. She spotted a rowdy photo at the end of the shelf.

It was Percy, Bill, and Charlie all getting ready for Hogwarts. It seemed as though it was taken in Percy's first year. Bill had his trunk, Prefect badge almost hidden, Charlie grinning as Percy waved a book in his face, pouting about something.

There was a growing despair building inside her heart. Percy was in jail. He was with dementors. He was in big trouble. And she could not do a thing. She knew her worry was illogical, because he was ready for it. It was illogical to think she could have made a difference, illogical to endanger her children, but Audrey felt it illogical to leave him behind like she did.

He'd always stuck up for her.

* * *

_The silence in the compartment was not comfortable but not actually awkward, as the girl with the short blonde hair evaluated the witch across from her. The curly haired girl was nose-deep into a book with torn pages and tens of little colorful tabs jutting out the ends._

_"Did you know Rowena Ravenclaw was the founder who created the moving staircases? How exciting!" The curly haired first year looked awed and amazed while the girl across from her gave her a look of disdain._

_"Are you- muggleborn?"_

_She blinked. The tone of the blonde girl had been immensely clipped. "Yes?"_

_Penelope didn't understand why the girl had taken her belongings and moved to another compartment. Had she said something wrong? She had been worried, when her aunt had told her that she was a witch. She didn't believe her until she levitated her aunt clear off her seat as she refused to accept her 'lies'. Her aunt-by-adoption was a witch. She had researched as much as she could before the summer was over. Her aunt had even brought her to Diagon Alley, let her have her pick of quills, and even got her a book about the school. She never put it down. It was always within reach and she would never be more grateful for her aunt. Aunt Belle had been a Gryffindor when she had attended school. Penelope hoped she would be a Gryffindor but as she read the book cover to cover, her hopes diminished._

_She wasn't brave. She wasn't courageously reckless. She'd never fit in in Gryffindor. She sighed and swung her short legs onto the cushion. She felt tears pricking the ends of her eyes but she held them back._

_So what if the girl hadn't wanted to be friends with her, if didn't matter. Was it because she was muggleborn? She thought with fear. What if all the purebloods were like that? What if everyone hated her?_

_She had left behind perfectly good friends back at her primary school. She felt her bottom lip pouting as it often did before she bawled. She pulled it back and busied herself with Hogwarts: A History._

_The door to her compartment was opened slowly and she quickly removed her feet from the seat and back to the floor. A very tall boy with red hair and a prefect badge peered in and asked politely if his brother could join her while he was at his Prefect meeting. There was a skinny boy with thick glasses hiding behind him and she nodded quickly before shyly opening her book. A tense silence filled the cabin and she knew the boy was staring at her. She peeked over her the pages and saw he had been reading the cover of her book. He looked very interested._

_"I'm assuming you've read this before?" She closed it and fingered the multi-colored tabs._

_"Yes… I find it very interesting." He was awkward and his eyes darted around the small cabin, trying to look everywhere but at her. She smiled when a thought occurred to her. She didn't know his name._

_"My name is Penelope."_

_"Percy Weasley. That was my older brother Bill." He looked at the floor as if mulling something over before continuing, "I have another brother here too, he's Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. His name is Charlie."_

_"Quidditch?" She had seen a picture of a pitch but the hoops made no sense to her so she had skipped that chapter entirely._

_"You know, Quidditch, where there's a Seeker, Keeper, Chasers, and Beaters?"_

_She wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready for wizard conversation. She settled on looking at him blankly._

_"The Chasers try to get the ball in the hoop, Keeper tries to block it, Seeker gets the snitch and Beaters hit the bludgers? You know, Quidditch." He tried to explain but she was having a hard time deciphering his words. Oh why oh why, didn't she read about Quidditch?_

_"Like football?" She slowly pieced together similarities and hoped for the best._

_"What's football?" It was his turn to be completely confused._

_"Well there's a goalie, and the players try to kick the ball into the goal."_

_He didn't speak and she began to worry about the mad look he was giving her. As if she were crazy. His face lit up; he figured it out and reprimanded himself for not realizing it earlier._

_"You're muggleborn?"_

_She frowned. "Does it bother you?" She snapped at him and he looked confused._

_"Why would it?"_

* * *

They had talked about that book and Quidditch until Bill returned right before the train had pulled to a stop. She had really gotten into what Quidditch was now that she actually knew some things about it. She couldn't believe it when the girl who had looked down on her tripped as she past the red headed boy on her way to be sorted. She was a Slytherin. Meredith Andrews.

Little Penelope had been happy to be in Ravenclaw until the nice boy with the red hair had been claimed by Gryffindor as he had predicted. Percy later told her that while the Sorting Hat had initially suggested putting him in Ravenclaw, his reckless act of chivalry had earned him a one way ticket to Gryffindor.

She bit her lip and acknowledged the tears slowly tracing lines down her cheeks. She couldn't find the strength to wipe them away. He was in prison. Almost 8 months earlier, Percy had said he was a martyr in one way or another. She hadn't let him out of the flat that day.

Audrey heard Charlie behind her, sniffled, and heard him leave again. She pondered about the world she was bringing children into.

They would be safe. This family was strong; they were built upon each other and never abandoned one another, no matter what certain people had thought. She ached for some reality; some sort of proof that her Percy was alive. She would not let herself believe that he was well. He must be far from it, and with every fiber of her being she cursed her Ravenclaw intellect for not allowing her to indulge in such a fantasy.

The floo roared to life and Charlie was quick to re-enter the room. Molly and Arthur stepped out before the flames rose again and again, bringing Fred and George with them.

Audrey paled at the sight of her father-in-law. What if he was still upset with Percy? What if he didn't like her?

She didn't have time to rationalize when he took one look at her and gathered her in a hug.

"Don't you worry, we'll get him back." He whispered and she could feel the family bond reaching out to her already. Her silent tears came to a halt and he pulled away with a weary smile etched on his face.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

"We're all adults here, call me Arthur."

Audrey smiled. She felt an arm wrap around her large waist and another over her petite shoulders. The twins led her up the winding staircase as Charlie filled in his parents about her husband.

"Now, dear sister, seeing as you are in such a state-" First flight.

"Transforming into a whale, and such-" She let out an outraged gasp.

"We're going to hold off-"

"At least-until it won't get us killed by Mum."

"On your family initiation prank." Second flight.

"Oh, Fleur got the best one, so don't fret-"

"Bedsprings are so maniacal. Moment she got in bed the whole thing-"

"Sprung up, like some sort of jumping charm. Lasted a whole week."

"Been saving that one for the longest time." Third flight. Door.

"Had to hide out from Bill and Mum for quite a while."

"It was too good to pass up."

"But for now, this'll be your room." George opened a white door and Audrey was glad to be out of their grasp. Her mind drifted to the pictures on the mantle and her face paled further.

"Ginny?"

The twins frowned simultaneously.

"You don't think they'd take her? Not from Hogwarts?" Fred glared at the air.

George made a disgusted face.

"We've got a rescue mission."

The twins retreated to the foyer and she slowly shut the door.

She let out a giant sigh and her teeth dug into her lip as she pulled at her hair. She pressed her back against the foot of the bed and sunk down to the floor.

_It'll be alright. One hand rubbed at her eyes and the other was placed on the two inside her. Daddy loves you. He'll be fine._

She nodded off for an hour before waking up and heading downstairs to an almost

empty house.


	3. Chapter 3

"My boy…" Molly shook as Charlie told them what Audrey had said.

"He's going to be alright, Molly. If there's anything Percy is, it's brilliant. He'll think of something. We've got a few problems that need taking care of." Arthur sighed. "Fred, George, I want you to do a little snooping. Ginny is in danger at that school now that they want us. Figure out how to get her out without causing too much trouble. Charlie, you can apparate long distance, go get Bill. I need you two to see if there are any guards or snatchers around Percy's flat. If there aren't- come back for Penelope. I'm sure she would like to get some personal items before the flat's burned to the ground." Arthur glanced at his sons and raised a brow as Fred and George did the same to each other.

"Dad, we think it'd be best not to bring Penelope to the flat at all." George sighed and Fred immediately flicked the hole on his twins head. Molly took in a sharp breath at the gesture, ready to tell Fred off when he cut her off.

"Yeah, considering what we had to do to the shop, and what they planned on doing, it's best for the pregnant lady to stay safe."

Molly looked between her sons and for a moment, she let herself believe they had matured.

"I'll go. I can gather her some clothes and maybe grab a few comfort items from the flat. C'mon Charlie. Let's get Bill… and Fleur."

They exited the house and made it to the edge of the wards before apparating repeatedly until they reached Shell Cottage.

"Bill!" She didn't bother knocking. Bill's long mane was out of its usual ponytail and he looked almost unhappy to see her there.

"Mum? What's happened?!" He saw Charlie in the background and the worst came to the forefront of his mind. He heard Ron and Fleur scuffling in the hall, just out of sight.

"The Weasley's are going into hiding, that's what. I'll tell you more when we get back to Charlie's. You might want to bring Fleur."

Bill took a glance into the hall and flicked his head towards his mother. Fleur ran out of the hall and gripped her wand.

"What ees 'appening?"

"Percy's been taken to Azkaban!" Molly cried and she tugged them both out of the house, "We're going to go to his flat to pick up a few things."

Bill's jaw dropped minutely before he regained his composure. Percy? In Azkaban?

"Fleur, please, go to Charlie's. Arthur and Penelope will be there."

They apparated away from Shell Cottage.

Molly opened the door with ease and noticed it was slightly bent at the hinges. The inside of the flat was a mess. Broken plates littered the ground and curtains were torn to shreds. She carefully stepped around broken glass and singed scrolls. Her eyes caught a familiar red and black spine on the floor. She made sure it wasn't tampered with before quickly hugging it to her chest.

It was a journal. Percy's journal. It had been a Christmas gift from Fabian. Gideon had gotten him a matching never-ending-ink quill which could be stored in the cover. The five year old Percy had taken such good care of it; never leaving it out of his reach even though he could hardly write a proper sentence. Molly tucked it into her bag and made her way to the bedroom. Bill and Charlie quietly followed her through the destruction with their wands drawn. Fleur kept watch from the door.

The grip on her wand tripled at the sight before her. Dried blood was caked on the pale blue sheets and the entire room had been turned upside down. The bed was upside down and the windows were blown out. Books covered the floor and she had to grab at least seven before moving on to the closet. She managed to find a few of Percy's muggle shirts and jumpers and tossed them into the bag along with most of Audrey's clothing.

Oh whoever did this, oh they would _pay_, that toad would pay for hurting her baby-

She sobbed.

Bill narrowed his eyes at the shards of bloody glass on the floor and the dagger in the mix. Charlie searched the rest of the flat, only to find it just as destroyed as the bedroom.

Molly had fat tears of anger making lines down her face and she couldn't trust herself to apparate. Charlie took her back via side-along.

* * *

"What's he like?" Arthur's question broke the silence that had taken over the large house. Audrey swept a hand over her stomach and thought of the best answer she could give.

"He's still Percy, for the most part. I mean, he still dwarfs me entirely and gives off that aura of authority that he had in school. People take him very seriously. He jokes from time to time," She smiled softly, "and he's always ready. Ready for everything. One step ahead of me, when I think I have five on him. He's become someone so important, such an enormous piece of me that-… that I can't imagine what would happen to us if he couldn't break out."

Arthur was getting sentimental with the girl until she said that. His head snapped towards her from the picture of his oldest sons.

"Break out?"

She blinked and wondered if the entire family would be as surprised as Arthur. "Of course… You thought my Percy wouldn't have a 'break out of Azkaban' plan ready?" _Though it will have to be modified to account for all the variable change._

Arthur looked floored. "But how?"

"Percy isn't the only one on our side within that corrupt place. The moment he thinks it's safe, he's going to have his name in the Quibbler. Coded; just in case, but our correspondents can find it easily. Xenophilius Lovegood, very good man, is also a very good seer. Those dementors will have their hands full for sure. His brother is a warden at the prison. He'll bring Percy's wand, set Percy and a few 'blood traitors' free and Percy will stun him and obliviate his memories of that entire day. Percy will separate himself from the group and use the warden's wand to open up the floo for one use. The grate will explode after he is gone. He will floo to my great uncles abandoned mansion; from which he will apparate to the Lovegood's home and stay until he can find a new contact or get to me."

The calm in her voice contradicted the worry in her eyes, but confidence radiated through the speech. Arthur's eye twitched. His missing son was prepared to not only survive Azkaban unscathed, but escape it.

Oh, Molly was going to have a field day with this.

"That is brilliant."

"Yes, it took quite some time to plan... " Audrey wrung her shirt in her hands.

Arthur chuckled speechlessly. "You are a very bright girl; that is for sure. I'm very impressed with this plan. "

Audrey shrugged.

"We've been pondering the whole– 'if-I-ever-get-sent-to-Azkaban' thing since 7th year and the Sirius Black incident. Only recently have we gained these connections. Pure luck, the timing."

A bang sounded outside and Arthur was up quicker than a man half his age.

"Who is it?!"

"Eet es Fleur!"

"Prove it!"

"You gave Beel 'is fang earring behind Molly's back!"

Arthur quickly pulled Fleur into the house and closed the door.

"Ze others, they are coming soon." She smiled wearily towards Audrey, "And you are?"

Another series of crashes sounded outside the house and Arthur moved to the windows to see who had apparated outside their wards.

Molly rushed to the door with her extension charmed bag. Her sons made sure they hadn't been followed before following their mother into the house.

"What was the name we had picked out before we knew they were twins?" Arthur asked the question with all the authority a father of seven could muster against his wife. It wasn't much.

"Philius," Bill and Charlie shared a look of untimely mirth, "Now Penelope, dear, come with me, up to the washroom. You must be positively exhausted about the past twenty four hours. That won't do." She shooed Audrey up the stairs and the young woman could tell that her mother-in-law was in a state of emotional turmoil and was in an especially coddling mood. She found it best to just go with it.

They entered a room on the third floor and Audrey was reminded of a smaller version of the lavish bath for the Prefects. There was one sink, a mirror, a toilet, and a steamy pool of water about five feet deep.

"Now, strip down, I want to see your little injury from earlier," Molly didn't hesitate to lift the shirt off of her daughter-in-law's back, "Need to check for swelling and such." Audrey was a bit shocked at the breech of privacy, but she figured she would need to get used to it.

Molly smiled at Audrey's abdomen before looking at the red line of skin on Audrey's chest with approval.

"That should be gone by morning. Although morning isn't far away, is it?"

Audrey shrugged. She had yet to spot a clock in the house. Molly turned towards the sink and started ringing a washcloth under cool water.

"You should get in, dear, Charlie designed it himself. It's very relaxing."

Audrey took advantage of Molly having her back turned to remove her knickers before slowly dipping her body into the hot water. She gasped lightly at how peaceful she felt once settled by the edge. She dipped her head under for a moment to soak her matted hair.

"See?" Molly took a seat by the bath and placed the cold cloth along Audrey's forehead over the shrinking bump from the book. They sat in silence for ten minutes, as Audrey stretched her sore muscles in the relaxing water. Audrey climbed out of the bath and wrapped herself in a towel Molly had given her.

She started to cry.

"Molly, you've been so kind to me… I want to apologize for Percy- all the things that were said…He'd do it himself if he was here! I told him to think it through before he went to tell you, but he was so excited and I didn't want to ruin it for him. A-And when I found out about the baby- babies, I wanted to tell you then, but it wasn't safe at the time and Percy's cover would have been shot even earlier. I'm so sorry." Audrey had turned to face Molly and buried her face in her hands, "I've been so terrible."

Molly sighed before wrapping the girl in a soft hug filled with motherly concern.

"Penelope, you've done nothing but keep my son happy when I couldn't. I never meant to hurt my boy, never, but that's what happened and you kept him happy. Thank you," Audrey sniffled and Molly released her, "Now get dry and go to bed. You're positively exhausted, dearie."

Molly handed her some clothes and waited for the younger girl to get dressed before helping her back to her room.

"Molly… Could you…" Audrey gripped the doorknob as she readied herself to shut the door.

"What is it, Penelope?"

"Could you call me Audrey?... Please?"

"Oh.. Of course." Molly seemed a bit confused but nodded anyways.

Audrey shut the door to her room and thanked Merlin for her love for Percy. She blinked at the bag on the white comforter. There was a note next to it.

_'Brought this lot back from your flat. Maybe you can make sense of it all. –Bill'_

She opened the bag and pulled out some clothes. She straightened out a few shirts and left them folded on the otherwise clean bedside table. Her knickers were carefully hidden beneath a few books and she silently thanked Molly for them all. She quickly stuck her unmentionables into a small drawer in the bedside table. She placed the books by her shirts and reached further into the bag. She felt around before her thumb got caught in a piece of worn fabric. She pulled out a large navy muggle sweater and cradled it in her fingers, feeling the soft, holey piece of clothing.

* * *

_"It's not going to kill you if you keep it." The jumper had arrived only an hour beforehand and he was already preparing Hermes to take it back._

_"I can't. I know they're watching. It's going to break her heart; but it's not going to get them killed." His voice was firm and left no room for discussion. She scoffed._

_"Percy… Sometimes I wonder why I stick around. You've become so… paranoid." Her hands traveled over his shoulders and linked behind his neck. She pulled him closer by the collar of the navy sweater she had gotten him for his birthday that year._

_"I've gotten myself in deep with this law-breaking. I can't let them know; they'd be targets. You're already a target and I loathe myself for it." He lifted her off the floor and they scuttled to the sofa. He dropped her on it and sat beside her, his deep blue eyes never leaving her bright brown. She moved to sit on top of him and he put his head on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her._

_"They're capable. You just care too much to see that."_

_He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I know."_

_"I'm capable too, you know."_

_"I know."_

* * *

Audrey slipped the shirt over her tank top and reveled in the familiar smell and texture. She carefully placed the bag on the floor, promising to go through it thoroughly after things settled down. She crawled under the covers and imagined, just for a moment, that Percy was only working late again. She yawned and fell asleep just as the lights outside the door flickered off.


	4. Chapter 4

The next few days went by comparatively slowly, considering she had been moving at such a fast pace that day. She was so tired that she felt as though a month had passed in that single day. It was mid-Sunday when she finally broke out of her semi-stupor.

Molly had her help with making lunch for everyone and Arthur was gone, off to meet some man with information. Audrey grimaced at the thought. The Weasley family was in hiding because of Percy and herself. Fred and George had returned with Ginny, both eyebrow-less and harboring nasty bruises, but victorious nonetheless.

Ginny hadn't wanted to leave the school until they told her the whole story. She told them her own tale of just how bad things at Hogwarts had gotten. Audrey missed the days before her life became so complicated.

When she was a teen, she had told herself that Percy and she were logically compatible to stay together for the rest of their lives, based on a plethora of factors that she still has written in a journal in her parent's attic. It was the only reason she agreed to go out with him. That and she had been harboring a massive crush on the boy since first year. He had become such a fixture in her life and she came to the realization that being without him was slowly killing her. She could not go more than two minutes without thinking about him and them and the situation at hand.

She focused on distracting herself and watched as Fred and George played Exploding Snap. Both were getting increasingly frustrated with their tied games. Audrey was getting moodier and moodier as their arguing continued.

"This is the eighth tie we've had today." Fred collapsed the cards.

George quickly vanished the smoke from the singed cards. "We're not stopping until I win."

"You mean until I win."

"You're rubbish at this game; even Alicia's beaten you."

"I was half-drugged! By you!"

"It was your turn for testing!" By then, they were on their feet.

Audrey sighed before asking, "Can I play?" They turned to her in unison.

"Against who?"

"The both of you."

They stared at her as she set the cards up.

"Are you sure?"

"Just don't go easy on me," she paused and sent them a hard look, "And when I win; it's going away."

The next few minutes were full of miniature explosions and swishing wands.

"She beat us. Both of us." The redheads watched as she fought to stand before standing themselves and pulling her up with identical grins. She smiled gratefully before it turned into a smirk.

"And it's going away." She packed up the crisped cards and levitated them to a high shelf in the foyer, placing a temporary sticking charm on them. They glanced at each other before Fred hurried from the room. She eyed George's grin warily. Fred bounded back into the living room with a box in his hands and a maniacal grin on his face.

Wizard's Chess.

She swore she heard Ginny snickering behind the door to the kitchen.

* * *

Eventually, the competitiveness spread through the Weasley sibling ranks and the gaggle of Quidditch players took off outside.

Audrey watched them all fly back, forth, up, down, and from side to side as they tossed around a Quaffle around the yard. She sat in the tall grass and laughed when Charlie stole Fred's shoe in a maneuver only an amazing Seeker could accomplish. Her laughter died out as she traced the pages of the journal pressed against her chest. Percy's journal.

She cradled her wand in her palm before tapping it against the dragonhide cover of the journal and over its overlapped edging, which had been charmed to be clamped shut.

Gold lettering appeared on the front. '_Password_?'

_Oh he would_. He would.

She racked her brain for meaningful words. _Oh Percy, why didn't you tell me the password?_

"Penelope," it didn't move, "Penny, Audrey. Molly. Arthur. Bill. Charlie. Ginny. Fabian. Gideon."

The letters changed. '_I'll give you a hint (and only because it's you): Sixth year._'

Oh, what complex magic.. She'd have to figure out just what he had done to make that book so smart... that cheeky prat.

"Um, Classroom. Charms. Dungeons. Owls. Secret," she held her breath,

"C-Chamber."

The unwanted memories came flooding back and she struggled to calm down. The lettering hadn't changed.

"P-Petrified. Basilisk." The letters receded but nothing else happened. "Petals!"

The book snapped open.

* * *

_It was like sleeping but being awake at the same time. That was her answer to the many people who asked what it was like to be petrified. She hadn't been completely aware during her ordeal but she knew the giant yellow eyes and the icy cold would haunt her nightmares forever. Her arm stuck out, she'd been trying to hold back the Granger girl from seeing the monster, but it had been for not, as the little genius decided to look first. Her eyes were wide open but she couldn't see and it made the far away noises louder. The scraping sound of chair legs on stone floor._

_During the day, she would think of all the things she was missing, about the serpent attacking anyone else, if anyone else would figure out Hermione's brilliant (proven) theory. She'd think about Percy and, somehow, she knew he'd copy notes for her._

_She thought about his sister and how upset he was when she discovered them. How upset he was about the attacks._

_They had tripled their Prefect Patrols and scoured the castle for some sort of clue. They'd spent endless hours in the library looking for anything pertaining to petrification. The school texts never said much and she'd asked Flitwick for a Restricted Section pass but he'd turned her down. He had said she didn't need to worry about anything because the teachers were working on it. He was probably rethinking his decision now that she was in the Hospital Wing, stiff as a statue. _

_She also thought about the time._

_Every day at dinner someone would sit next to her, whisper a spell she couldn't hear quite right, and leave._

_When she had been awakened, for that was all she could call it, Percy had been holding her stiff hand. A jar of petals sat on the night table next to her bed. Her eyes shifted from the petals to her boyfriend's face. He was paler than usual and staring at their hands. She wiggled her fingers._

_He smiled but didn't move to look her in the eye._

_"One petal for each day. I wanted you to wake up to something prettier than, well, just me."_

* * *

She was conflicted. Obviously, he wouldn't have minded if she did read it, but… It was something so dear to him, so sacred… She groaned softly as she opened it to the first page.

_Table of Contents_

She smothered a laugh before moving past that first line.

_-Bill_

_-Charlie_

_-Fred_

_-George_

_-Ronald_

_-Ginevra_

_-Penelope_

Her smile faded. She traced her finger over Bill's name and was shocked when page numbers appeared in its place. She turned to the first page of the list.

_'Bill is my oldest brother. He is who I look up to. I think he is fun. – Percy'_

The handwriting was obviously Arthur's and there was a small '5' after Percy's name. She continued onto a page that was further into the book. Percy had definitely done some extraordinary magic to make it so fantastic.

'_June 25th, 1989_

_Bill is leaving for an interview with Gringotts today. Mum 'never thought she'd see the day where one of her sons actually got a real job'. She's been a bit snappy with us all. Everyone is upset that Bill is leaving, with good reason._

_Bill is the oldest. Bill was first; and if Mum would just admit it, Bill is everyone._

_Bill is 'cool'- as is Charlie. They're daring._

_Bill is intelligent- Luckily, I take after that._

_Bill is funny- The twins idolized him until they realized they were even better (worse)._

_Bill is strong-willed- Ron got a bit too much of that particular trait if you ask me._

_Bill is trustworthy- Ginny's never said a word to anyone about our talks, just because I asked her not to._

_With Bill out of the house, things are bound to heat up without him to keep his 'personalities' from clashing. I only hope Charlie will keep the twins entertained and away from me.'_

Audrey sighed in inner conflict and quickly flipped back to the front page and swished her finger over her own name.

_'June 11th, 1992_

_Penelope- The girl I met in first year on the train. She's in here already. But it's been almost five years since then and I've asked her to be my girlfriend._

_I am a spectacular idiot. I am currently awaiting her response and I hope Hermes hasn't frightened her too much. He tends to get over excited when visiting people in their own homes._

_She's a wonderful girl, very smart and she's even learned how to create enchanted paintings. She's a natural at Charms, Transfiguration, and Arithmancy. She has higher marks than I do in those classes._

_She's beautiful, too._

_I don't know when I started having such strong feelings for her, but they've definitely gotten me into trouble._

_I can't believe I had the nerve to send that letter. Let's hope for the best but expect the worst._

_-Idiot Boy'_

Idiot Boy indeed. She felt a lump within the pages appear and she shook the journal. A folded piece of notebook paper fell into her lap. Audrey quickly unfolded it and her heart leapt as she read the familiar letter.

'_Percy,_

_I am thoroughly surprised that you have these particular set of feeling towards me. I admire your honesty and bravery in revealing this to me, not in handwritten words, but with that spectacular display of magnets; which incidentally flew out of my room, down the stairs, and to my ice box. You gave my mother a heck of a scare. It was the sweetest thing that has ever been done for me. The truth is that I am," she remembered the way she'd fretted over the next words, "intensely flattered that you should find me so fanciable. I would love to be your girlfriend, Percy. I must be honest with you, I have fancied you for some time now and if you would find it appropriate; I would enjoy sharing a compartment during the train ride to school after patrolling the train. I wish you well until the next letter._

_Your Girlfriend,_

_Penelope Clearwater_

_P.S. You can call me Penny.'_

It was clear the letter had been read multiple times. She remembers his hastily scribbled reply, begging her to keep their relationship a secret, else his brothers make a fool of him in front of her. While he'd most likely been awake since sending her the letter of his intentions, she figured he was exaggerating. She heard a loud crash in the air.

"Gotcha, Ginny!"

"You idiot!"

"Nothing's broken!"

Okay, maybe his exaggeration wasn't too far off base, but the thrill of a secret relationship outweighed her curiosity and she had heartily agreed to meet him in secret and arranged that they would have an evening patrol together three times a week.

Her throat tightened and Audrey could feel her heavy heart pounding against her chest. It was too much. She closed the journal with a loud snap and forced herself to stand. She almost fell forward but caught herself before she could really lose her balance. She felt a sob build in her throat and as she stumbled back towards the house she could not hold it in. It echoed in the yard.

The flying siblings stopped throwing Fred's shoe between them and worriedly watched in shock as Audrey briskly walked back inside, sobbing the entire way.

Fred took the opportunity to grab his shoe from Ginny's hand and land near the door.

"I'll get her." He fumbled to follow Audrey and put his shoe back on at the same time. He could hear her waddling up the stairs. He made it to the bottom step and saw her clutching the journal to her chest with one hand and the railing with her other. He panicked as she almost slipped in her haste.

He caught up to her easily as she rounded the corner to start the second flight of stairs and caught her before she could fall. She hiccupped as he set her down on the steps and took a seat beside her.

"What's all the fuss about?"

"I hate him." She wheezed as Fred realized he had no idea what to say to that.

She continued, "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!"

She was reduced to soft cries and they eventually subsided as Fred sighed next to her.

"Why?"

"We- We could have left. We had so many chances to just disappear. Then everything could have been fine," she hiccuped, "I- It- It's been way too long. He should have been out by now."

She tilted her head and gave Fred a watery stare.

__"Something had to have gone wrong."

* * *

_Penelope tried to smother her giggles, but the look on Percy's face was not helping. In fact, his face was causing her to laugh in the first place._

_She had been watching him over her novel from her comfy corner of the couch and caught him getting confused over the book in his hands. She always knew when he was having trouble with something because his right eyebrow would lift up and his cheeks would puff up slightly. It made her heart happy to know just how well she knew him. These were the times she cherished most. The moments when they immersed themselves into their old routine before all the stresses of the world came down on them. She could almost forget the outside world. It was just them and books and she was content with that._

_She closed her novel and set it on the center table. Percy didn't notice. He was nose deep in 'Ancient Relics and Why They Last So Long'._

_Penelope stood up and took casual steps around the back of their couch. Percy didn't notice._

_She made sure she made no noise as she kept walking until she was behind his chair. Percy didn't notice._

_The clock on the wall chimed nine times and broke the comfortable silence they had built between them. Percy looked towards the couch, his right brow rose, and his cheeks were beginning to squish._

_Penelope pounced._

* * *

Audrey's eyes snapped open. It had been such a wonderful dream. After her episode, Fred had made her some tea suggested she take a nap, because naps made everything a little bit better. While the content of her dream seemed a bit too real, it did help improve her mood.

She decided to leave Percy's journal in her room and fixed her hair into a ponytail before she left. When she made it to the bottom step of the stairs, she felt it buckle under her feet. She hopped off the stair and watched in fright as it sprung off the ground and all the way to the fourth floor. That could have been her.

She heard someone bump into another someone behind her.

"It was all his idea!" The Weasley twins pointed towards each other.

She narrowed her eyes at the both of them. "I'm telling Charlie."

"Go ahead. He'll love it."

They smirked at her.

"I'm telling Molly."

Both of them paled instantly.

"No, don't!"

"We'll take it off!"

Audrey smiled and walked to the kitchen. She noticed her teacup was still on the counter.

Right next to half a vial of a clear blue potion.


	5. Chapter 5

She saw red. "Fred!"

Said twin slowly opened the door and caught her eye. He also noticed the little blue potion vial in her hands, a little too late. He had the decency to look guilty.

"Tell me you didn't put this in the tea you gave me." Her eyes began to water and she huffed again. Audrey hated it but she was definitely crier when she was intensely angry.

"I migh-"

"What's in it?"

"Asphodel, Honeywater, Wiggentree bark, and a low dose of time triggered Wiggenweld potion. It's basically a Calming Draught that makes you sleep a few hours with pleasant dreams."

She thought hard about each ingredient and how they react with each other. She was never the best at Potions but she knew a thing or two about reactions. And the price of any type of new cauldrons. Asphodel, in miniscule amounts, would cause a person to fall asleep for an hour or two. Honeywater and the Wiggenweld potion would make sure she woke up before her sleep pattern could be thrown off. It was the addition of Wiggentree bark that stumped her. Wiggentree bark was known for it's healing properties. That must have been why her dream had been so nice. The reaction between the ingredients matched her symptoms and she sighed in relief. None of the potion would affect her children. But the idea that she'd been given it without her permission still made her dangerously upset.

"You should have told me, Fred!" she raised her voice and she felt the tips of her hair start to lift, "I need to know about any sort of unnatural things that could possibly hurt my twins." She took a menacing step forward.

Unfortunately for Fred, his mother chose that moment to check on the loud noise she had heard. When she saw Audrey crying in anger, she turned on him.

_"Frederick Gideon Weasley, what did you do?!"_

* * *

Once Fred had properly begged for forgiveness, Molly calmed down and Audrey told her she had overreacted a little. They had laughed it off and she led her daughter-in-law away from him, but she took a moment to look over her shoulder and scowl at Fred.

Molly watched Audrey scan the bookcase next to the fireplace. She felt particularly sentimental today and picked a medium book off the shelf. She sat on the sofa and motioned for Audrey to sit next to her.

"This is an old album, just of the older boys and some with the twins. We've got so many of Ron and Ginny with them, in about three other ones in the basement." She flipped it open as Audrey began to stare at the photo on the cover, starring Charlie, Percy, and Bill lined up in a row near the Burrow's staircase.

The first two pages were of Bill and Charlie as toddlers, mid-tantrums and throwing things at each other. Molly laughed when she saw herself separating them in one picture.

"And I thought those two were a handful." She noticed Audrey smiling at the one where Bill had Charlie in a tight hug. Molly turned the page and found more pictures of an older Bill and Charlie, perhaps around 7 and 5 years old respectively, and a new addition. Percy had definitely been the quietest baby she had ever had. There were pictures of the older boys poking at the new baby and other pictures of them making funny faces at Percy to make him smile. She turned the page and laughed.

All of the Muggle pictures were terribly posed and not one of her three boys could keep still for the photographer. They had all been too uncomfortable in the Muggle village. She remembers when Arthur first told her that they should let the children play with the Muggle children in the nearby village. It was a disaster because Charlie could not get it out of his head that they had no idea what Quidditch was and would not understand a thing he said about it. She felt Audrey smothering a laugh at the last picture. Bill was desperately trying to keep Charlie in one place and had his hand on his head, while Charlie made a disgusted face at the camera. Percy held onto Bill's other hand and squinted at the photographer.

"He still does that, you know?" Audrey let her laugh fill the room. Molly laughed with her.

"Does he?"

"Yes," Audrey giggled again, "And in this one," she pointed to the upper left photo of the boys glaring at each other, Percy's face pouted as he glared, "he does that too!"

Molly's smile faded as she realized Audrey knew a lot about Percy that she did not. Two years was a long time. She looked at the boy in the picture.

"Tell me, does he still recite things in his sleep?" Molly sighed and turned the page.

Audrey lost some of the color in her face. "At least once a week."

The next two pages contained various wizard photos of the three boys growing up in the Burrow. Bill's first lost tooth, Charlie's first and second broken arms, Percy's first pair of glasses, and two little tots running about. Molly remembered thinking that her twins had been cursed with endless energy. She wasn't so sure they weren't but she wouldn't have them any other way.

"Molly, I'd really like to show you something, up in my room." She felt Audrey tugging at her sleeve and closed the album in her lap.

* * *

_December 28th, 1995_

_I am a horrible son. I should burn to death in the fiercest Fiendfyre imaginable. All my siblings should take turns breaking every bone in my body._

_It still wouldn't make what I did any less horrible. My mother doesn't deserve a son who does these things to her. She's done nothing but support me in all my endeavours. And what do I do? Slam the bloody door in her face and send back her love-stitched jumper. I had to do it. I know I had to, but that didn't make it easy. I know that I've broken her heart too many times in the past few months. I'll do anything to keep her and the rest of the family out of harms way and if the recent attack on Dad wasn't enough, then I won't be risking anything more by keeping it. I wish I could tell them- tell them everything, about the real reason I've been such a prat. If I did, it would negate all my work so far._

_I hardly think they would even forgive me._

_Penelope keeps telling me not to be so negative but how could I be positive in such a situation?_

_My family hates me. The Ministry is breathing down my neck, trying to break me. Everyone is a danger. I, myself, am a danger to everyone I love now. Especially Penny, considering she's the last person actively speaking to me that the Ministry knows about._

_I just wish I could apologize to Mum. Tell her I love her without putting them all in more danger than they already are. They don't understand. She doesn't deserve this._

_-Percy' _

* * *

Audrey handed Molly a handkerchief and watched her mother-in-law burst into tears as she read Percy's journal.

"He really is terribly sorry. And I know he'll tell you so, when he gets here." Audrey tried to smile encouragingly but Molly didn't seem to absorb the good vibes she was trying to give off.

"That it came to this! My poor boy-" Molly wailed and Audrey patted her on the back.

They spent the rest of the evening this way.

* * *

The morning didn't bring anything better her way.

The quiet knock on the door startled her. Light streamed through the sheer curtains and she pawed at her sleepy eyes as she sat up in bed. It was getting increasingly difficult to move as her stomach prevented her from seeing her own feet. Usually, Ginny would help her get up but she must have slept in late.

"Yes?" She yawned out.

"It's Charlie. May I come in?"

She nodded before realizing he couldn't see her. "Yes." Her wits were slowly ebbing away with the pregnancy and stress clouding her judgment. She could barely _think _anymore.

Charlie quickly shut the door behind him and got comfortable at the foot of the bed.

"I have news," He paused to let her wake up a bit more, "It's a secret. So secret that I can't tell Mum. Just you."

"Out with it, Charlie." She took a deep breath. He smiled for a fraction of a second before sighing.

"Bill flooed while everyone was sleeping. I was in the room so I filled him in on everything. Apparently, Ron has been at Shell Cottage for more than a month now. Hid when me and Mum came by. He had a row with Harry and Hermione during their little excursion for whatever they're doing. Now this concerns you, because he said that Ron saw Percy."

"But-" She gasped.

"Now don't get too excited. Ron saw him the day after you two were cornered. Ron says he had to hide in Muggle London for a few days before he got to Bill and Fleur's place. Snatchers everywhere. He saw Percy and Nott. Percy didn't look too happy."

Her heart fluttered in anticipation of what Charlie would say next.

"Ron thought it was some sort of business thing until the Death Eater's wand was at Perce's back. Then Umbridge appeared. Said Umbridge was upset and told him to show Percy not to undermine his superiors or some rubbish like that. Our Percy put up a good fight. At least from Ron's perspective,"

Audrey had tears in her eyes. He was being _reckless_.

"Now, don't go crying. They need him, Audrey, you know it. He knows it. He won't tell them anything. He'll be fine, until we rescue him."

"That was a long time ago, Charlie." She pushed the covers off of her and rummaged through the dresser where she kept her clothes. She sighed and pulled out her husband's journal. She went back to the bed and drummed her fingertips against the cover.

"But it's something, isn't it?"

"It's something, but not something good. It's taking too long…" She huffed, "Thank you for letting me know, Charlie… I'm going to look something up before I head down."

"Alright then." Charlie stood by the door and paused before leaving. "Oh, and breakfast was four hours ago. It's time for lunch and Mum should be up here any minute to drag you out of here."

She tugged the muggle sweatshirt she had gotten Percy over her head, sighed as the clothes had to be transfigured again to fit comfortably, made sure her pants were loose, and pulled a pair of slippers on her bare feet.

She looked back at the book.

She didn't read anything. She knew she would soon be interrupted and she crossed the stairs to the loo and knocked before going in. She quickly swept through her morning routine and made her way downstairs with a kick in her step.

"Good morning, Audrey." As if on cue, Molly dragged Audrey to the dining room and placed a plate of assorted fruits in front of her.

Audrey thanked her before fiddling with the fork in her hand. She poked her food around the plate, organizing the fruits by color in a circle. Ginny flipped a coin in her left hand while she ate with her right.

"For the last time, fix my staircase!" Charlie rolled his eyes at his brother.

Audrey watched as the two entered the dining room, sitting across the table from herself.

"Mum won't let us think of touching the Burrow's stairs. We did it for you! I'm sure after a long day of dragon wrangling you'd rather not climb up all these steps! You'd only have to step on one, and it'll take you straight up to where you want to go!"

"It all sounds good, until that damn thing shoots me through the roof! Don't act like I haven't heard about it!"

Audrey chuckled softly and pressed a piece of peach to her lips when she felt a presence swoop in behind her. Her eyes were covered by hands and she did the first thing she could think of in her panic.

Her head nodded forward before she threw it back and nailed whoever was behind her right in the face.

A sickening crack was heard and she dropped her fork as she turned and found George holding his nose and howling in pain. Ginny roared with laughter occasionally getting out 'He deserved it!' over and over.

"I-I'm so sorry! It- I just- you crept up on me and-," She was out of her seat and moving his hands from his face, "Just let me… I can fix it!" Her wand was out and George would not keep still, moaning about his beautiful face and how he'd already lost an ear and was too young to be without a nose.

Charlie and Ginny were too busy laughing to contemplate helping so Fred decided to be a saviour for the moment.

"Oi, Georgie, Mum found the Pouncing Packages!" George snapped his attention to his twin, "Just kidding."

"Episkey!" A satisfying crack was heard and George yelped before rubbing a hand over his freshly healed nose. He wiped away a line of blood with his sleeve.

"Ouch." He turned to glare at the witch with the really hard head.

"I'm so sorry, George, I really- I just, I'm just paranoid and that wasn't something I was ready for!"

Fred snorted before catching George's eyes. "I give it a two, if only because there were bones broken. Poor execution, brother-mine. I'm almost ashamed."

"At least she knows how to fix them correctly. I seem to remember back in fifth year you broke my foot, _claimed_ to know how to fix it, and managed to break the rest of my leg."

"Oh yeah… that was a good day." Fred chuckled. Charlie had finally calmed down enough to eat the meal Molly sent over while they were having an episode. Ginny snickered shamelessly into her sleeve.

George slumped into the seat next to Audrey. She resumed her meal after retrieving her fork and cleaning it off. Her eyes turned to Fred when George kicked his brother under the table. Charlie noticed too.

"Oh, c'mon Georgie, he meant no harm, I'm sure. Now eat, because I'm taking you two to see the dragons today and I'd rather not have Mum on my arse if you don't come back."

"Can I come too?"

"No one under seventeen allowed on the reserve, you know that Gin."

"But, _Charlie_…"

Charlie and Ginny left the table arguing and Molly came into the room with another plate for Arthur who followed her into the room from the kitchen.

Audrey quickly finished her plate, thanked Molly, and fled to the kitchen. She took a deep breath and stared out the small window above the sink. She was nauseous and she wasn't so sure her morning sickness had suddenly returned. She watched a beam of fire shoot up at the reserve.

_Something's wrong._ Her thoughts turned pointedly to Little Luna Lovegood. The girl astounded her with her emotional intellect. The other Ravenclaw girls made fun of Luna for her belief in invisible, mystical, magical creatures. Personally, young Penelope had believed her.

On more than one occasion Luna managed to get herself cornered by angry Slytherin and haughty Ravenclaw. Percy and Penelope had taken to checking up on the girl after she was particularly bruised coming into the common room late at night when Penelope found her. In her sixth year, she was petrified and after a long chat with Madam Pomfrey, Penelope found out that not only Percy but Luna had visited her every day. Though the girl was only a second year when Penelope graduated, they had kept up a steady friendship.

The girls of Ravenclaw were judgmental and it wasn't always on purpose. Most were just jealous because Luna had a viewpoint unlike any other in her house. And, in true Ravenclaw pettiness, the tradition of hiding people's stuff was pressed on the blonde. She was particularly worried because Luna usually owled her around this time of year.

But things at Hogwarts were different and she only hoped that Luna would make it through the year with Snape as Headmaster and her friends not with her.

_Something is very wrong._ Her stomach was in knots and she briefly wondered if the twins knew something she didn't. Her arms shook on either side of the sink as she held herself up. Her vision filled with black circles. _What could it be?_

"Luna." She tried to yell but it came out as a shaky whisper. She tried again but her voice was drowned out by the crashing of the plate in the sink as she clattered to the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

Fred jumped when a crash resonated in the kitchen. George was already up and running. Molly gasped and hurried into the kitchen behind George. Finally, Charlie bounded in behind them.

"Fred, a little help. She's a bit unbalanced if you haven't noticed." George tried to lift the woman but her bulge kept getting in the way. Fred handled her lower half and Charlie made sure he had a good grip on her upper half before they lugged her to the couch. They accidentally hit her on the framework. The stockier half of the Weasley brothers were not exactly the gentlest.

Molly swept her hand over Audrey's forehead and let out a sigh.

"There's no fever. No bumps. It's most likely nerves catching up to her," Molly looked slightly uncertain, "Boys, please take her up to her room, carefully. If she doesn't wake up soon enough, I'll floo for help."

The boys were barely on the second flight when Charlie had to readjust his hold on her.

"Bet you wish you hadn't taken down our stairs now."

* * *

_"If none of you lot can take the initiative, perhaps you need a demonstration. Crucio!"_

_"Luna!" Seamus' shout echoed the otherwise silent classroom. Audrey stood in the doorway, transparent and trapped outside. She pressed against the barrier but couldn't make her way into the room she so desperately wanted to be in. Luna slammed against the floor as she writhed in pain._

_"Mr. Finnigan, unless you would like to join Miss Lovegood on the floor, it'd be in your best interests to return to your seat, keep your mouth shut, and take notes."_

_"Why'd yeh pick her?! Like to pick on the little ones? Make yeh feel better 'bout yer cowardly self?" _

_Audrey saw Seamus' arms shaking as he angrily stood at his seat. She scanned the room. She recognized a pale Padma and her shaking twin Parvati gripping the desk next to her. A Gryffindor/Ravenclaw class, then. She also noted how the sixth and seventh years were mixed. Her eyes fell on the mass of curly blonde hair scattered around the floor near the back of the classroom. She pushed against the barrier again. Luna had her back to the teacher and her pale eyes seemed to be fighting away unconsciousness. Their eyes met and Audrey realized she was having a vision. This was really happening._

_"Filthy half-blood! Sit down this instant!"_

_"Yeh bigoted bastar-!" As the words flew out of his mouth, Seamus fell to the ground writhing in pain while the dreadful teacher angrily cursed him over and over._

_"Luna…" She pressed against the barrier with all she had. Tears clouded her vision and she knew Luna had just been tortured. Seamus kept screaming and Audrey couldn't bear to watch him as Neville tried to help him. Luna kept looking straight towards her. Audrey screamed and yelled and beat her arms against the invisible force keeping her out. She watched as Luna mouthed her name, 'Penelope', from the ground. Luna tried to get up but Amycus ended class. Children ran straight through Audrey and the barrier disappeared. She stayed where she was. Luna didn't break her gaze. Parvati and Padma helped Luna up and out of the room. When they passed through her, Luna turned her head and Audrey saw the tears building in her eyes. She moved to follow them, but she was stuck. She struggled and saw Luna was about to turn a corner._

_"Luna! Don't cry! I- Just! I'll do something…"_

_She turned her face back to the classroom. Neville Longbottom, Lavender Brown, and Collin Creevey were hauling Seamus out of the classroom. Her hand swept through his unconscious face as they passed and her breath caught when she looked up to find the Carrow staring straight at her._

* * *

Audrey eyes snapped open to the almost empty room. Charlie was about to shut the door behind him when he heard her sob. He walked to the bed and shut the door with his wand.

"Audrey, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Luna…" She sobbed and wobbled as she tried to sit up. Charlie helped her throw her legs over the edge and sat next to her as her cries increased in volume.

"Luna Lovegood?" He vaguely remembered the girl visiting the Burrow many years before.

"She's hurt, they're hurt- Those monsters," She stood up angrily and a twin kicked where her hand rested on her stomach, "Those monsters!"

"What's happening?"

"They're using the Cruciatus Curse at Hogwarts. They're using it on the children!" She roared and threw her hands in the air.

"What?! They can't do that!" Charlie's fists clenched in anger. "Ginny never said anything-"

"They are! I saw it myself. They used it on little Luna!" She swung the door open and her angry magic had her hair rising behind her as she stomped down the stairs.

"Molly! Arthur!" The two in question and their twin sons were in the living room.

"Audrey, are you alrig-"

"Where's Ginny?" She growled. The girl in question slowly walked into the room.

"Those monsters! Those bastards," Penelope took a harsh breath unable to steady her breathing, "They're using the Cruciatus Curse on the students!"

Ginny gasped and her hand drifted to her pocket.

Molly's tea cup fell to the floor and Arthur choked on the tea he had been drinking. Audrey released such vulgar obscenities that Fred slowly covered George's ear to try and shelter him. The raving pregnant woman huffed as she finally sat in a low chair. Bad idea. Have fun getting up.

"I saw it. That- That-"

"How?" Molly fixed the cup and everyone in the room stared at Audrey.

"When I passed out, I woke up at Hogwarts. I was having a vision. It happens to Luna when the people she loves are in emotional or physical turmoil. She got it from her mother… She was a talented Seer... It's only happened my way once before. This time, I was outside a classroom and couldn't get in, and- oh, they- no morals, no boundaries!"

"No!" Ginny sobbed.

"And when I got there Luna was on the ground. He used it on her! He didn't let anyone help until class was over. He used it on Seamus Finnigan repeatedly when he tried to do something!" Audrey was having trouble calming down. Fred winced as she settled her mad glare on him. Ginny was crying openly now.

"Not Luna! And Seamus!" cried Ginny.

"Luna Lovegood?!" Molly gasped in outrage.

"Little Luna Lovegood! She didn't do anything wrong, Molly! Not a thing! She looked right at me! She knew I could see it all!"

Arthur spoke up. "Ginny?"

"They never did that when I was there, Dad! They just gave horrible detentions! Never an Unforgivable."

"This is insane!" George fumed and Fred nodded his agreement.

"And we thought Umbridge was bad." Audrey flinched at the name.

"I never thought it would come to this… He didn't touch the school last time." Arthur sighed.

Molly bristled. "Yes, well, back then, we had Dumbledore."

Audrey pressed her hand against her lips to keep calm. Her heart was racing and her nerves were shot from all the worrying she'd been doing. For Percy and Luna and even Seamus; even though he'd been _such_ a prat when she had been in school, never listening to her warnings of docking house points or detentions. But, there he was, standing up for little Luna.

"This is too much." She whispered and the mood echoed around her. George sneezed. Normally, everyone would have dismissed it. Today, his nose grew into an elephant trunk.

"Fred!" Molly watched as Audrey pulled out her wand. She assumed she would fix it.

"I didn't know it would happen right now!"

Audrey sighed before giving Fred elephant ears to match his brother. He proceeded to flap them around, smacking the weepy Ginny in the back of the head, making her pause in her whimpering.

* * *

By the end of the day, her nerves were shot.

Audrey sat on the old mattress on the fourth floor and looked at the dark skylight as the pressure from the last two months eased away a bit. She tried so hard to not be stressed for her babies but she needed help. She'd done everything she could. She needed Percy.

* * *

_"Pen? I'm home... Are you still in bed?"_

_She didn't bother to answer as he made his way to their bedroom automatically._

_"Oh Penny." How many times had she heard that?_

_'Oh Penny. Penny please. You're scaring me. I don't know what to do.'_

_It had been two weeks. Two horrible weeks. She didn't speak, her eyes were never dry, and she never left the bed unless it was absolutely necessary. Her hair was in knots and the paleness of her skin made the bags under her eyes more pronounced. She just looked up at him with sad, brown eyes every time he pleaded with her to respond. Today, she sighed and held out her arms. He took the inch she gave and stretched it for all it was worth. He gathered her in his arms after he got into bed next to her._

_"Talk to me, Pen. Please."_

_"I'm not meant to be a mother."_

_His grip on her tightened exponentially. "Don't say that, we'll try again, when things aren't so-"_

_"He wasn't the first. Only the l-longest."_

_Percy absorbed her heavy comment slowly, reeling from the shock of her speaking and the content of her whispered words. "Why didn't you tell me?"_

_"They were so quick. I never knew until they were already gone."_

_They sat in silence and Penelope felt her new husband shaking. She turned around in his grasp and hugged him tightly._

_"Penelope- I-... this is my fault, I am so sorry."_

_"It's not your fault at all, Percy. It's me. The Healer told me. I'm not.. I'm broken. " Her voice died out and she buried her sobs in his coat._

_"You are no such thing."_

_"You don't have to stay with a broken woman, Percy. I know you'll want children eventually!"_

_"I want you! You're perfect. I love you. I need you, Penelope. You. I'm much more than content with spending the rest of my days with you, just the two of us. Don't worry about this. I'll take care of everything. I'll take care of you. I'll love you forever."_

* * *

Audrey cried softly and didn't notice she wasn't the only one awake in the house.

"Beautiful skies here."

She wiped away her tears as best she could and faced the twins standing on the landing.

"May we join you?"

"'Course." Her voice was smaller than she had hoped. George and Fred sat on either side of her and the three of them looked out at the view.

"It's so quiet out here. I miss the madness of the shop." Fred ran a hand through his hair.

"I miss Dahlia." George laughed.

"No, you miss _snogging_ Dahlia, there's a difference." Fred snorted.

Audrey found the strength to join them, "I miss painting."

"I miss our store in the sixth floor bathroom. Such humble beginnings."

"I still can't believe you two broke out of school."

"Broke out being the key words. She's a menace. We did all we could."

"The thing had no respect for our trade."

"You know… Percy may not have liked being on the bad end of your pranks, but he really appreciated that stunt. Said it was the best use of magic he'd seen out of the two of you."

Fred nodded slowly and carefully said, "Yes, well, I'm sure he'll be able to reminisce with us after all this is over."

Audrey felt her tears return.

"I need him here. It's almost time... I don't know if I can do this without him."

* * *

November passed as quickly as October had. It was now mid-December and she had gotten no word from Percy or Luna and it was driving her up the wall. All she could do was hope that everyone's assumptions had been correct. Ginny had contacted her friends and they assured her that Luna and Seamus were fine after a day, but Audrey still worried. The students could be used as targets. No one but the Death Eater's children were safe.

The remaining members of the Order were scrambling to help the trapped students. They could only hope they would be able to get out safely for the holidays.

Audrey was getting stir crazy. She counted the floorboards and the ceiling tiles and the books on each shelf, along with the averages for every bookcase, calculated the area of the entire house and each room on its own, and invented a custom rune to add protection to the windows. She took to following whomever had the task of getting her out of bed each day. On the days with Ginny, they would talk about girly things, the kinds of things she hadn't really gotten to talk about with her dormmates back in school, and they grew closer with each swapped secret. When she trailed Fred and George, she managed to improve upon some of their older products and to discover, with great embarrassment, that they had created a product that annoyed the victim via tiny purple cats, that had been named after her. 'Penelope's Purple Pussy Cats?! How did you know I used to have a cat named Purple?!'. She let them keep it.

Today, she had gone to see a dragon with Charlie. The dragon had had a procedure done the hour before she met it and it was heavily medicated. She liked that one.

The other ones, the ones that had been awake and looking at her like she was Christmas dinner, those she did not like.

When they finally returned, Audrey made up her mind. "Charlie, may I ask you for a tiny favor?"

"Go ahead."

"Do not under_ any circumstances_ teach my children that dragon wrangling is right for them."

"Oh, it's not that dange-... okay, I won't."

She laughed at his sudden grimace and let him help her up the stairs to her room. It was getting near impossible to go anywhere without assistance. Once clear of her chaperone, Audrey kicked off her slippers and changed into comfortable clothes. By the time she finished fighting with her hemline, someone was knocking at her door. There was another sound that followed, the sound of the shuffling of footsteps on hard floor. She opened the door slowly and looked around, but there was no one outside. She backed up into her room and looked down.

There, lying on the ground, was a nondescript package.


	7. Chapter 7

After she struggled to pick up the package, she shut the door and moodily tore open the brown paper. She was surprised to find a box of _Penelope's Purple Pussy Cats._ The box was different from the ones she had seen when she followed Fred and George around. On the box, a purple cat rolled over the cover and stared up with gigantic pink eyes. It blinked at her. She opened the cover and gasped when she saw three tiny, purple, toy kittens rolling all over the inside of the box. They were adorable. She read the instructions on the box and found that the product had been modified. The kittens no longer meowed loudly until the break of dawn. Now, they would cuddle and do tricks if you promised to pet them.

Audrey immediately fell in love with it. She pulled a teensy kitty out of the box and set it on her duvet. It looked up at her and slowly snuggled into her leg, or at least tried to. Audrey could tell the animation charm on it was rushed. She pulled out her own wand and added more movement to the toy, along with an animation timer to make sure it wasn't going to try and smother her at night.

She played with the kittens until she was in a good enough mood to open up the bag containing the things from her flat. Her fingertips traced over a few books. She pulled one out at random and stared at the navy cover.

_'Talented Trackers of the Century by Riley Quinn'_

Percy had picked up that book from a little bookstore they had come across during the first year of their marriage. He went through phases of interest and tracking charms had been a recurring subject. An idea struck her.

She was tired of _waiting_. She was sick of worrying. She'd gotten no word from or of her husband for almost two months. He had promised to contact her by now. She put the kittens away in their box before she opened up the book in front of her.

If Percy was free, and unable to contact her, she would not sit idly by and wait like he told her to.

She would find him.

* * *

No one saw her for the next sixteen hours. She had stayed up all night reading the tracking texts in the bag. At some point during the night, she found exactly what she was looking for. After finding the proper instructions, she researched the history behind the runic blood magic. As she read, she realized some of the older methods were pretty barbaric and that the newer ones just were not reliable. She dissected the processes and made the decision to modify the older methods on her own. It would take a week of Rune work, another two days or so to check it with Arithmancy, and a few days to actualize it, she already knew, but it would be worth it. It would give her peace of mind.

It would bring her Percy.

The twins would be coming any day now. Audrey cursed herself for waiting so long to start her project. She finally came out of her room for good in the afternoon. She held tightly to the banister as she carefully walked down stairs. Her twins were not happy with her meal skipping. Her head spun and she had to stop three times before she made it all the way down. She felt an uncomfortable twinge.

"Molly?" she called out for some help. She could hardly stand and she sat down on the steps to keep away the dizziness. "Ginny?"

Charlie came into view and helped her up. She huffed slightly and put a hand on her baby bump.

She smiled and said, "Thank you. Where is everyone?"

"Mum and Dad took Ginny with them to a meeting. She was pretty set on going. You know how she gets. Fred and George are out checking the wards." said Charlie. They made their way into the living room. Audrey scanned the furniture with her eyes and went for the tallest of the seats. Her stomach barely fit between the armrests.

"I honestly can't imagine myself getting any bigger than I am now." She made a show of squeezing into the chair and laughed.

Charlie laughed with her and said, "You're fine. You look just as big as Mum did with Ron."

"Oh, but there are _two_ in here. Two very active tots."

"Two times the fun then." He smiled dismissively.

Audrey was silent for a moment. A thought struck her. She had definitely started her project too late.

"What if he doesn't make it," She noted how Charlie's attention was now completely on her and realized her poor choice in words, "What if he's not here when they're born?" _What if something goes wrong again and he's not here to help me?_

Audrey had never expressed such doubts in the presence of any Weasley.

"P-," Charlie stopped himself, sighed, and shifted to face her completely, "If there's anything that Percy is: it's punctual."

The left half of her mouth twitched. She laughed once disbelievingly and another time a little bit louder. She was soon wiping away tears of laughter away from her eyes and did not stop laughing quietly to herself until Fred and George stumbled through the door, one leaning on the other for support as blood seeped through his pant leg. Fred let out a loose moan when he pressed his foot to the floor.

"What happened?!" Charlie guided his little brother to a couch. Audrey forcibly yanked herself from her chair and waddled to heal Fred's gashes before he could die from the blood loss. She grimaced at the sight, The bone was snapped in one place, a clean break.

"_Ferula_." Fred's leg was held together by a conjured splint.

"_Episkey_." The bone mended together but the bruising remained.

"Mum's got the kit in her bag. I'm headed to the reserve for one." Charlie scrambled to a closet for his coat and broom.

"He's patched up but he'll want at least half a BRP…,"Audrey watched as Fred's eyes fluttered closed and George seemed to be struggling to stay quiet, "What happened to you two?"

"I left for only a minute! I came back and found him like this." George cried out and Audrey noticed just how panicked he was.

"Calm down, George, he'll be just fine once he gets the potion."

Charlie pulled his broom from the stack by the door, "I'll get it. I'll be back soon as I can," and he rushed out the door.

"No… Char- wait! So bloody stupid sometimes-" George ran out with his elder brother. Audrey wasn't so sure they should have left her and the unconscious twin at the house. A chill swept over her body and she was sure it wasn't from the door being left ajar.

Her grip tightened over her wand and she almost screamed when the windows frosted over.

"_Mobilicorpus_!" She had never had to use the spell before, but it sure worked. The redhead followed her wands direction and she led Fred's body deeper into the house. She had kicked over a rug and pulled a latch when she heard the windows shattering. She opened the lead door with difficulty and put the man in the cellar before climbing down the stairs herself. Her stomach prevented her from going down easily. She almost cursed herself for getting pregnant at such a bad time but realized that definitely would not help her fragile state at the moment.

_Dementors! We must be high on the hit list if they're sneaking past the Romanian government to get us. Okay, Charlie and George just flew away and most likely apparated to the reserve, Molly and Arthur went to a meeting and took Ginny, and I'm stuck here, being ridiculously pregnant, with dementors and possibly Death Eaters and an unconscious charge._ She considered rennervating him, but she feared the obvious pain in his expression would worsen if she did. She gasped when an unexpected flash of pain coursed through her.

She cast every protection charm she knew over their small hideout below the house. It wouldn't do much considering there was already a Fidelius in place. Once finished, she knew it would only be a matter of time before they gave up on finding them in the Fidelius protected cellar. At first, the idea had seemed odd to her, but it was saving their lives at the moment and she couldn't be more thankful that Arthur had let her know of it. She sighed and turned to her redheaded brother-in-law.

It felt like hours before she finally stopped shaking from the adrenaline rush. She had a moment of calm.

She sighed before her breath hitched in her throat and she felt another quick pain.

"Ow." She hissed. She heard the sound of the latch opening and she increased the grip on her wand. _No, I- no! Please no! Not this time! Not ever again!_

"_Rennervate_," Fred's eyes snapped open and he sat up abruptly clutching his sore leg. She heard the door close and she looked pleadingly to the steps. George was taking two at a time to get down to them.

"Are you down here?"

"I need Charlie." Audrey whimpered miserably and Fred looked relieved to see his twin.

They looked from Audrey to each other. Audrey whimpered again.

"We've got a problem." Fred scooted to Audrey's side and rested against the wall with her. They ignored her whispered plea.

George followed. "Nott's here. He brought dementors."

"Followed Dad's patronus to me. But I managed to take Nott out of the equation. Dementors?"

Audrey gave them an incredulous look as she bared her teeth to quell the sharp pain coursing through her.

"Not so much. I managed to sneak here with a good patronus but it was close. Charlie's already at the reserve."

"Do you think he'll notice?"

"I'm sure he will. Should we send Dad a message?"

"Probably not a good idea, that's how they found me."

"Is it too much to hope they'll just leave?"

"They are a bit thick, maybe they'll forget why they're here."

Audrey held in her scream, grasped both of their sleeves, and brought their heads in close to hers.

"_Boys_. I am kind of sure I went into labor a few hours ago. We are in a cellar. Charlie is still not back. Your parents have Ginny somewhere and will most likely not return anytime soon. There are fucking Dementors outside. Both of you need to listen to me and listen well. Now, if we can get through this night without a major catastrophe, I'll goddamn name them after you." The boys had paled after 'labor'.

George twitched and Fred blinked.

"Since when did we get Ron's luck?"

"Git must've left it behind and we caught it. We're infected."

"Sorry, but we're not exactly experts in… birth and such."

"If only Bill were here. He was there when we were born. Granted, he was only eight.."

Audrey let go of Fred's sleeve and leaned against George as worry set in fully.

"You two aren't making me feel any better… I—I need- ," She pointed to an empty chest, "I need that to be a cot frame. Or something of that nature. And grab a pillow from that stack over there and make a sort of cushion for the inside."

George saluted. "Yes, Ma'am." He did as he was told. She watched the chest sprout legs and bars.

She turned to Fred. "I need you to look at your watch. I need to know how far apart these damn contractions are," she grimaced, "start counting."

George looked at her expectantly waiting for his next task.

"This is bad… This is bad! I need… expand a pillow to a small bed size. I'm not giving birth on the floor… I need to stand up and pace. I want…"

She wanted Percy. Oh Merlin, what if it happened again? Why couldn't she do this right? She wanted him there, to know what to say and do and think. She needed Percy there.

"I'm pretty positive we're going to be very close by the time this is all over." She chuckled nervously as she fiddled with the button on her pants. The button ripped off as she yanked it.

Fred pulled the makeshift mattress to the wall. He and George lifted her to her feet and she held a hand to the wall and began walking from one end of the cellar to the other.

It felt like ages before she felt another contraction.

"Fred, time." She stopped abruptly.

"Twelve minutes."

She thought about all the things she had read. She wasn't so sure about it being so slow anymore.

"Merlin, this is going to take less time than I thought." She bit her lip and started walking again. It was happening. She only had the twins. She didn't have Molly, who promised to be there, or Charlie, who was slightly more comfortable with all things gory. She didn't have _Percy_. She felt her lip trembling against her teeth.

"I want Percy." Her voice was high.

Fred and George shared a look of panic and an identical thought crossed their minds.

"Audrey, we're not so sure."

"What we mean is, we're not so sure that Percy, our dear older brother, would like us,"

"Uhm, to, well, see-"

"What we're trying to say is-"

"We're not so sure Percy would want us seeing you're- erm.. lady bits."

She groaned and moved to face them.

"You two are grown men. I'm sure you've both seen your fair share of _lady_ _bits_ by now."

"You're our brother's wife. It's different."

"Get over it. If you paid any attention to Professor Flitwick' boys only chat during your 5th year, you'll know that these two are coming early. Which could lead to problems. That _I will not be able to handle_. So I need both of you to get the fuck over it and-" she took a deep breath and held it as her contraction felt stronger and lasted longer.

"How long?"

"Nine minutes." It was a little shorter between.

"I'd say we have a few hours before it's really time," She took an empty bucket from the shelf, "_Scourgify_. _Aguamenti_." She handed it to George and he passed it to Fred who placed it by the bed.

Audrey looked them in the eyes and sighed. "I really hope Charlie or your mother gets here soon."

"I'm kind of scared," She transfigured her jumper and pants into a long, loose dress, without changing their original colors, leaving it oddly red on top and blue from the hips down. She stepped out of them and the twins helped her get somewhat comfortable on the expanded pillow. They sat on either side of her, waiting in silence. She felt tears fighting through her lashes, "I'm so scared."

She laid her head on Fred's shoulder before lacing her fingers with George's. She let out a small sob. She'd tell them. She just had to.

"When Percy and I got married… I was already pregnant." She felt Fred stiffen beside her and George's grip tightened on her hand. "I-… the baby… he didn't-," she sobbed again, "He only lived for three minutes- His name was Nate. I lost him and… I- I'm scared."

The boys were silent before George started, "It'll be okay…We're here."

"One pair of Weasley twins would never let _anything_ happen to the next."

She felt infinitely better. They sat in the silent cellar where the minutes felt like hours. Every contraction was getting stronger but lasting the same amount of time. She felt her eyes grow heavier and heavier. The only thing keeping her awake was the periodic surge of uncomfortable pain. She shouldn't have stayed awake all night.

"What time is it?" She yawned. Fred yawned a moment after.

"Almost 2."

"We've been down here f-f-forever." George yawned.

"How long?" She hissed.

Fred quickly glanced back at his watch. "Three minutes."

"I think I'm almost there. Best prepare yourselves. Can't have you fainting halfway through."

"I'm sure it'd be fine."

"There are two of us."

She snorted. "There are two of them."

"You still going to name them after us?"

"We wouldn't hold it against you if you didn't."

"I am. You two are so," she hissed, "so-important-to-me. You know that."

"Even if they're girls?"

"Middle names then... I'll figure it out."

She winced again and _knew_.


	8. Chapter 8

"Fred, get over here. George, I'd be sorry, but you lost the coin toss. You're getting the first one."

It took hours. Audrey cried and cried while Fred and George tried to make her as comfortable as possible. Once the first baby felt it time to make an entrance, Audrey tuned out the boys 'calming' words and pushed. George had looked extremely squeamish in the beginning and Fred's hand was a nasty shade of purple. She was still pushing when she registered that the first baby was out. She didn't dare look. She was in a daze until she realized it was too quiet.

"G-Get him wrapped, put him in the cot, why isn't he crying?" She huffed with increasing volume. Something was wrong._ Oh Merlin, no. Not again. No. No. No. No._ The baby didn't make a sound, didn't move, didn't do one thing. Her chest heaved and she couldn't put together one coherent thought.

George looked painfully lost and Fred had no idea what to do next. Audrey wailed loudly and George's wand was in his hand before she registered what he was doing.

"_Anapneo_." A glob of fluid slowly made its way out of her baby's throat and it wailed in its uncle's arms.

"Oh, Merlin." Audrey managed to choke out.

The baby was tucked into a blanket and placed in the cot, where it kept up its healthy cries.

She had no time to savor the moment as her second child was awfully lonely and had decided it was too quiet.

It was over _much_ quicker than the first.

Audrey tiredly watched as George tenderly cleaned the babies of all the blood and other things no one in the room wanted to think of. Fred healed his hand and watched the purple coloring slowly fade. He made sure she was alright before he joined his brother at the cot.

Fred nudged the quieter of the two and watched in awe as the baby pushed back on his finger.

They each took a baby in their arms and took them to properly meet Audrey.

"Here's Number One."

George grinned as he handed over the first baby. It was so tiny in her arms and she was shocked when its tiny figure squirmed in her grasp. _What were you expecting?_ She pulled down the first three buttons of her dress and it latched on with no qualms. Audrey finally noticed that the baby was, in fact, a girl. Her hair was thin but she could already see the deep dark color at the tips.

"Hello, Molly... Frederica Weasley."

She managed to make room for her other daughter. Fred passed her along.

"And hello to you too, Lucille Georgina Weasley."

Her younger daughter had an arm out of her blanket and was gripping her loose dress. She was about the same size as her sister and she felt her kicking in her grasp. Audrey teared up.

Fred nudged her and laughed when he said, "They don't have red hair."

"You sure they're Percy's?" George chuckled when she sent a heated glare his way.

She sighed happily and said, "They're perfect."

The adults were stunned into silence at the turn of events and when the babies were finally full, Fred pulled the cot closer to the adults and the newest additions to the already enormous Weasley family slept in the quiet cellar.

"Those names are awful, you don't need to do that."

George nodded his agreement.

"They'll deal with it." yawned Audrey, and she shut her eyes to fall asleep. A thought made her eyes snap back open.

"Please tell me you did _something_ to tell them apart."

"We're not daft, woman." George laughed.

Fred nudged her. "Can't have a mix up this early on, they'd beat our record at that rate!"

"I put an identity charm on their blankets. The one in red is Moll and the blue is Lucy."

"Very nice of you to name one after Mum."

She felt her throat swell. Oh Merlin, he's not here, "…Percy and I had a few options for girls. He chose Molly. I chose Lucy."

She was asleep in seconds, before tears could overtake her.

The adult twins sighed together and reflected on exactly what just happened. They didn't know how long they had been pondering when they heard the latch on the door being opened. George and Fred, as tired as they were, jumped up with their wands at the ready.

"Fred? George? Are you two down there?" The voice was female and she sounded awfully tense.

"Ginny. Don't come down, what's Fred's favorite Muggle toy?"

"The color cube! But he cheats when he can't do it right."

"Okay, you can come down." George rolled his eyes.

"Definitely Ginny." Fred nodded.

Ginny was shocked to find a cot in the cellar. She was even further shocked when she saw two heads of dark hair she had never seen before.

"And no one thought to tell me?" She whispered harshly at her brothers. Audrey adjusted herself loudly and Ginny's eyes widened further.

"Well, they were only born hours ago, Gin, can you blame us?" Fred grinned.

"What are their names?" She smiled at her nieces.

"The one in red is Molly Frederica. The blue is Lucille Georgina."

"She named them after _you two_? She's begging for trouble." Ginny gave them a skeptical look and watched as Lucy opened her bright blue eyes for the first time. She struggled in her charmed blanket and Ginny lifted the girl out of the cot. The baby settled in her arms and she peered into the cot and found that Molly was starting to fuss.

"They're awake." The three siblings turned and saw Audrey fling her arms over her head and her back give off a loud crack in recognition. "Oh, that felt amazing."

Ginny laughed. "Go on up. Mum, Dad, Remus, and Charlie are searching the house for traps and such. Mum's getting skittish. She's even brought the clock along. You should tell her."

Fred climbed the staircase and not five minutes later they heard a sudden crash above them.

Audrey stood shakily and George made a move to help her, but she waved him off.

"I'm fine. Just sore, but otherwise fine, now, let me see my girls." She smiled as she watched Molly squirm in her makeshift bed. Her eyes were the same blue as her sisters. Audrey recognized the color immediately as Percy's. Her heart ached and soared at the same time. He wasn't there but she would find him once she found the strength.

She took Molly into her arms and she stared at her with the curiosity only a newborn could possess. Her throat felt tight and emotions welled up in her heart. Percy wasn't there.

"Molly." She spoke with a quake in her voice and her daughter held her gaze until a loud sound surprised her and the other people in cellar.

The anguished cries of Molly Weasley the First, sent chills through the once happy room. The babies began to cry and George was already sprinting up the steps. Ginny looked from Lucy to Audrey and when Audrey took the youngest Weasley from her arms, Ginny darted to the stairs.

Audrey cradled the crying babies in her arms and they seemed to sense the helplessness their mother was radiating. They quickly quieted as she cooed nonsense to them. Molly fell asleep and Audrey carefully sat in the old armchair near the bottom of the steps. Lucy kept sleepily pulling at her dress and dark tresses. At least she wasn't crying anymore.

The screams had quieted down and she felt something other than worry creeping up on her narrow range of emotions.

Hurt. A deep hurt that she couldn't explain as she held her hours old daughters in the dimly lit cellar. She stopped hearing the others above her and her chest felt uncomfortably tight. The latch was opened and Fred ran down the stairs and took Molly to the cot. George held his composure and held out his arms to take his semi-namesake. Audrey handed him her daughter and her curious eyes had both men holding their tongues. Fred expanded the chair into a sofa and they took post on either side of her.

"What's happened?" Her mind reeled and she could feel bile rising in her throat. She dared a glance at Fred and the moment their eyes met; she knew. Grief and regret fought for dominance in his eyes and she turned to George and found the same. She could feel their sadness.

She bit down on her bottom lip. "No..." She shook her head and let it escape her once more. Fred took her shaking hand in his and placed a piece of cold metal in her palm.

"No." She cradled the clock hand and shook her head even harder. "I would know. He's not-"

"It won't go back on." Fred interrupted her with tears in his eyes, "We've all tried, it just won't stay."

George sighed roughly, "The magic isn't wrong….He's gone."

* * *

_She heard him before she saw him. The door to their flat had been opened quietly and closed with a quick snap. The only person who'd be able to get through her wards so easily was Percy. Her heart raced and she felt her anger at him returning tenfold. How dare he leave- How dare he just disappear for an entire week!? She picked up her wand and left the bedroom, ready for a fight._

_The first day had been the worst. She had sat on the couch in front of the door, waiting all day for him to come back and beg her for forgiveness. When he never did, she nearly bit through her bottom lip._

_The second day was a tuesday and the Ministry had sent an owl to find out where he was. She tore up twelve notes before she sent back the one that most matched his neat handwriting. She cried when the owl returned with a get well soon card. She also burned the card into oblivion._

_On the third day, she sent Hermes to the Ministry with a note that Percy had caught a nasty case of the flu. She received no reply. She wondered just how long Percy would leave her all alone. His absence at the Ministry would be noticed. They'd come, she was sure of it._

_The rest of the week passed with her sending notes to the Ministry and even doing a bit of his work in order to throw them off. If he was working, they wouldn't come... at least that's what she hoped for. She still jumped every time she heard a snapping noise. _

_She stopped in the hall. She felt her long hair whip behind her. She felt another wave of rage overwhelm her senses. He was damn lucky she hadn't starved to death or gone outside. She moved towards the end of the hall again and held her head high despite the tears building in her eyes._

_She'd been so worried. After the first day, her angry rants disappeared and were replaced by intense nervous pacing and worried dreams. He'd put her through so much by leaving. By the third day, she was sure Death Eaters were going to knock down the door every time she made a tiny step against the loose floorboards of the flat._

_She heard a shuffling noise and huffed._

_She was going to skewer him._

_"Percy Ignatius Weasley, how dare you? Do you have any idea how worried I've been? You bloody pr-" she started off yelling but the sight before her smothered her raging anger until she couldn't fathom being upset at the man in front of her._

_He was sitting on the couch, sobbing into his hands, looking as though he'd been to hell and back._

_Audrey set her wand on a small table and approached him as she carefully whispered, "Sweetheart?"_

_His shoulders stopped shaking but his head remained in his hands. Audrey sat next to him and reached towards him over her protruded tummy._

_She gently placed her hand on his shoulder and slowly pulled him towards her. He looked at her with tear-filled eyes and shrugged her hand off his shoulder._

_She started to plead with him and said, "Percy, say something. You're scaring me. Darling, are you alri-"_

_His arms were wrapped around her, as best as they could be, in an instant. He buried his face in her neck and sobbed, "I'm a wretched husband. A pitiful excuse of a Gryffindor man. I never should have left. Merlin, I of all people know just how fragile you are, Pen. Don't you ever forgive me for this."_

_She felt her own tears making paths down her cheeks. "Where have you been?"_

_"I needed to clear my head-"_

_"It's been a week!"_

_"I got an idea that day, and I just had to make sure it'd work, so I travelled a little, and talked to some people- I can do it, Pen-"_

_"Call me Audrey, you know it isn't safe-"_

_He pulled away and held her by the shoulders. The look in his eyes made her shiver._

_"I can keep you safe. All three of you. I've figured it out. Everything is set. No matter what, you're getting out of this alive."_

_Audrey really didn't like his tone. She sobbed and cried out, "But what about __**you**__?"_

* * *

Her Percy. _Gone_. It was not supposed to happen. Had their plan been _useless_? It was a lie, it had to be a lie. She was supposed to _find him_.

"No." She was breathing in short gasps.

"It's-.. no." She was reduced to unintelligible mumbling. Percy was _dead_- No. The clock was wrong. _Wrong, wrong, wrong_.

"Audrey- I'm sorry." George noted how pale she was and tears stung around his eyes.

She felt her lip split from her reckless biting. A sob escaped her and all coherent thought was forgotten.

"But the ba-baba-and we had- and the plan- and we were- I don't. I'm findin- I have-. No." She felt Fred pull her into his arms and she buried her face in the crook of his neck as she felt her breath coming too short and too far between gasps. George's hand smoothed her hair and rubbed circles on her back as she fought for air. They sat for a moment in silence and it was only broken by Audrey's hoarse shouts of denial and explanations of why he just could not be dead.

They sat there for ten horrible minutes until Molly began to cry and Audrey forced away her sobs and pulled away from Fred. His eyes were red rimmed and he looked remarkably confused as to what would happen next. Her eyes were noticeably red and watery. She shuffled to the cot and in moments had her daughters in her arms. She noticed Fred and George turn to give her some privacy. She moved her dress out of the way and sat back down as they ate steadily.

She knew the twins were waiting for her to react again. She wouldn't respond. Her toes curled against the cold, hard floor and she shut her eyes slowly as the frigid temperature crawled up her body until goose bumps littered every piece of skin. Her mind shut out all things but the cold overtaking her. Percy _couldn't_ be gone. It was plausible, considering only hours before they had been attacked by the people keeping him away. Her heart sank and a weight like no other settled in its place.

She shouldn't be so shocked. It was the one flaw in their plan: them finding no more use of him.

But that didn't mean she had to act as though she hadn't just lost the ground beneath her feet.

Her memories fought for dominance all at once, trying to make sense of anything and everything. Her body was not responding to her thoughts and she struggled to keep the dry heaves away. Her eyes opened and she gasped and realized she hadn't breathed since she'd stopped yelling.

George's mouth was moving but all the words seemed to blur together and it became unsettling.

"I won't believe it until I see him. I won't." She kept her eyes trained to the floor where she could see Fred's legs and George's shoes. _I won't stop until I find him._

"Audrey, you should come up there."

"Mum's completely out of it. She's asking for-"

"He's not dead." She didn't move when Fred stood from the couch. "Go away." She hissed at them both.

"Fine. Don't believe us, but until you get a hold of your emotions or want us back, Ginny's going to be here with you." Fred watched Audrey shake like a leaf in a hurricane. He wanted nothing more than to fix it, to make it better, but there was nothing he could do to bring back his dead brother. He held back a sob.

"My emotions-" Logic flooded her mind, in her state, there wasn't much she could understand, and she knew they only wanted her to be safe with herself and her daughters. "I'm not going up there until I'm damn ready."

The twins made quick work of sending Ginny to the cellar.

Ginny had gotten particularly fond of the Head Girl from her second year. She had only known her as Percy's girlfriend and Luna's elder sister figure; but the time they'd spent together in hiding created a bond neither of the girls could ever easily dismiss. She wiped away the tear tracks from her own cheeks before saying anything.

"Audrey?"

Right now, all she saw a broken woman sitting with perfect posture on a ratty old couch with two fatherless newborns.

"Just call me Penny," She was paler than ever and Ginny knew it was because she wasn't breathing correctly, "Please." She wheezed. _No, no he can't be, no, no no no no. My Percy._

"Penny. I… Breathe." Ginny pushed Penny back by her shoulders and the older woman took a deep breath before she began to tremble harder. Her eyes stayed wide open.

"Ginny… I know we weren't particularly close until recently but… Percy thought very highly of you- I think highly of you! I wanted to ask you something…" Penelope swept her tongue over her bloody lip.

"For the next twenty-four hours, I am going to be an absolute wreck. And I… I need to know my girls are in good hands. And it sounds awful and I'm a horrible mother for saying such things less than a day after their birth but… I just- I'm completely shut down right now. I can't comprehend it. Don't be offended, please, this hurts so much I'm numb. But the moment I snap out of this, I'm going to be a complete mess. I, and Percy I'm sure, want you to be Molly's godmother. I mean to ask Luna to be Lucy's. And you have every right to refuse if you'd like, but I'm not entirely sure I'll make it long without him."

Ginny was shocked but nodded.

Penelope seemed pleased underneath her frail quaking. "Now, let's see what your parents have decided to do now that we've been c-compromised."

She knew she looked horrible. Everything was sore. Her dark hair contrasted harshly with her ashen skin and her steps were still unbalanced. She held her head high and had yet to cry again. The adults in the living room turned as one towards her. Molly caught her eye for a split second before she saw the babies in her arms. Penny understood that no one had actually told Molly, Arthur, or Charlie that she'd given birth downstairs. She took a shaky breath and shrugged her shoulders lightly.

"They have his eyes."

* * *

Please review! I'm looking for some feedback before I move onto the next chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

Ginny and Penelope sat on the floral comforter in the fourth guest bedroom of Muriel's seemingly never-ending home. Penelope had yet to begin her breakdown. She had been taking care of her girls non-stop all week, and during the brief moments of rest she had, she began picking apart the ancient tracking runes. Now, she sat against the headboard with a large book in her hands. Her daughters were hopefully sleeping comfortably in the arms of their respective godfathers in a room many meters away. The new mother was in desperate need of a break. Her twins refused to sleep at the same time, forcing her to be up all hours of the night, alternating between her daughters and the tracking books that littered the floor. While Ginny and Molly were enormous helps, Penelope couldn't help but feel exhausted and overwhelmed. The constant attention given to her and her daughters made it difficult to research without someone asking questions. She couldn't let them know she was still set on finding him. They'd think she was finally certifiably insane. After the second day, she glamoured the covers to look like parenting books in order to avoid suspicion. Penelope set her book down with a sigh.

There were too many thoughts racing through her mind. She was finished. She sorted her mind into sections, as she had during exams back in school. She pushed the letter P to the back of the queue and looked up at Ginny.

"Ginny, I have to ask. Two days ago, I had a terrible feeling that something was not right with Luna." She hadn't understood why she'd been so close to fainting until she heard the screaming. It frightened her but she kept quiet about it in order not to scare the family.

Ginny's eyebrows shot up. "What happened?"

The older woman winced.

"It felt the same as last time, but I didn't actually see anything, I just-.. I heard it. But I would swear I heard that Irish boy, he got into trouble too."

"If it was really bad, I would know. The D.A. will have taken care of them. They're both probably perfectly fine by now." More than just fine, if what I saw that month was correct. Ginny smirked but it faded when she realized she wouldn't be able to help her friends at Hogwarts by merely thinking of them fondly.

Penelope noticed Ginny's smugness. Her worry for Luna lessened. "He'll protect her?"

"Seamus may be the most sharp-tongued Gryffindor in his year, but he's not one to say things without some motivation. One day, back in October, we came back to the Room from our afternoon lessons, we found Seamus desperately trying to explain that in order to properly kiss, she had to stop talking. They were sort of together after that. Luna likes him well enough. I don't know the details, of course. Not that I would want them."

The mental image hovered over all of her other thoughts. Luna… with a boy. She snorted. It turned into a hearty laugh and she felt tears stinging in her eyes. Her laughter was creeping Ginny out and it was soon explained because Penelope burst into sobs. Ginny later realized the older woman had only been looking for a gateway to the meltdown.

"God- Ginny, I'm horrible, I'm awful! I was a c-complete-" She buried her face in her hands and screamed.

The ginger pulled her hands through Penelope's dark hair and let her sob to her hearts content.

"I- It's not true, it's just not! I would feel it.. He's just not-" She pleaded and pleaded until her voice grew hoarse once more. "I'm horribly selfish!"

"What?" Ginny was confused and quiet but Penelope heard her.

"Your family must think I'm so selfish, for acting so vile, when they've lost a son." She dove under the comforter and shook with each sob. "But I won't believe he's gone!"

"Oh, Penelope. I wish I could believe you... but you've got to look at the facts. That clock's never wrong." Ginny finally allowed the tears she had been holding back to fall. Her attitude towards Percy had been far less than acceptable, especially that Christmas, and the thought that she would never be able to express her regrets hit her hard. She found her grip on the comforter and pulled the entire thing off of Penelope.

"Wydewdahfr?" Penelope's face was buried in the sheet and her voice was muffled.

"Percy was my favorite brother until I turned seven." Ginny didn't look at her. Penelope stopped whimpering.

Ginny continued, "I know that I was horrible to him after what happened… But when we were younger, it was always Percy helping us. Bill and Charlie were too busy most of the time, helping Mum with things around the house or doing their lessons. Percy took care of us all; Fred, George, Ron and I were all under his watch. Heck, sometimes he even took care of Charlie. Percy made sure Fred and George didn't get hurt too badly or hurt Ron or I. I used to follow him around everywhere. I didn't realize until later on how much he dealt with. He never told me to go away, or to leave him be like he did with Ron and the twins. He just added me to his schedule. I wanted to be just like him."

Penelope sat up and stared at Ginny, whose eyes held tears of her own.

"He would read me stories and build card houses with me. I- I must have bothered him so much! And he just entertained me in return. And- when Bill and Charlie went to Hogwarts, I completely ignored him. I stopped following him around the house and Ron and I kept getting into trouble. Fred and George really started getting on his nerves then. With me around, they never pranked him too badly, but when Ron and I would go into the yard and Percy would be in the house, it was a free for all of who could bother him most."

Ginny sobbed, "I was so sad when he went to Hogwarts because he wasn't there to protect me from the twins and Ron's tricks. Fred and George tried to get me lost in the orchard once during Easter holiday. I couldn't see anything and it was pretty late in the afternoon, so it was getting dark. I could hear Bill and Charlie running and shouting for me but I was so scared. I couldn't make a sound. But- I heard Percy screaming for me, and I snapped out of it. I started crying and the next thing I knew he was picking me off the ground and rushing me back to the Burrow."

Penelope gasped. "What did your mother do?"

Ginny sniffed, "The twins couldn't sit right for days. She was so ticked at them and she had Percy take me to my room while she sorted them out. Bill and Charlie didn't realize I was home until an hour later. While I was waiting for Mum to come check on me, Percy stayed there. I remember it so well because he just sat there. He didn't say a word. Just kept looking at me and the floor." Ginny shivered.

"Mum came up and tucked me in and went to say goodnight to everyone else. He waited for her to leave before he got up. I remember that day so well. He told me goodnight and right when he was about to shut the door, he rushed back in and hugged me. I-… I don't think I'll ever forget that. He cared so much."

Penelope kept crying, but her voice was strong when she answered Ginny with her own story.

"When you started school, he was really worried about you. You were distant and so quiet around your brothers. He was really bothered about that. When people started being petrified, he suggested we triple our patrols. So we did. I remember him going through every book he could, just to find anything on the Heir of Slytherin. I was actually on my way to meet him in the library when I ran into Hermione. She showed me how the Basilisk was moving through the castle pipes and I pulled out my mirror from my bag. We were on our way to Professor McGonagall's office when… when we heard the hissing. Next thing I knew, I was in the hospital wing, Percy holding my hand… I asked him what happened, and he told me how you were taken into the Chamber. How Potter saved you." Ginny paled and tears resurfaced. Penelope gave her a confused look.

"I'm so sorry! I- It was me! I-I opened the Chamber!"

Penelope hadn't expected _that_.

"I mean, it wasn't me! It was Tom! He was controlling me. He- He used me to try to kill people. It- It could have been you or Hermione or Colin or Justin and I'm so so sorry!" Ginny threw herself into Penelope's arms and she tentatively patted the sobbing girl on the back.

"No one- I mean it, no one blames you for anything. Especially since everyone was de-petrified. You-Know-Who has controlled far older and more experienced wizards. You were only eleven. Ginny, don't ever think that anyone blames you. Colin, Justin, Hermione, and I know better than to blame you, sweetie."

"I was really scared that Percy wouldn't be as nice to me after I inadvertently got you petrified. It was silly of me to worry because he never changed."

Penelope and Ginny shifted and sat side by side against the headboard of the bed. The older woman examined her hands and traced a scar on her right index finger. She laughed softly and showed it to Ginny.

"During my first Hogsmeade trip, my friends left me at Tomes and Scrolls because they wanted to see the Shrieking Shack. They ditched me. I didn't know at the time, I thought I'd just gotten separated from them all. I remember walking out the door and looking up and down the High Street for them. Somehow, I ended up in Spintwitches looking at strategy posters of the Appleby Arrows. I swear, I still cannot get over how fluidly their Chasers flew together. Too bad they're rubbish now. While I was looking at posters, Oliver and Percy snuck up behind me and scared me so badly and I turned around and swung at them. Ollie's still got a little scar. I ended up breaking his nose pretty badly, he couldn't see because it swelled so quickly, and two of my fingers were fractured." She let Ginny laugh before she continued.

"Longest walk to the Hospital Wing of my life. I think I apologized every fifteen seconds. But the best part was when we were almost at the castle-"

* * *

_"Honestly, Penelope, if anyone should be apologizing, it's Oliver. He's the one who frightened you." Percy made them stop in order to examine Oliver's bloody nose, "Can you tell if it's stopped?"_

_Oliver would have rolled his eyes if he could have._

_"It's hardly even broken. We could've stayed and gotten a look at that prototype. I'm not hurt, I could have seen it! I can still go back... The new Nimbus!"_

_Penelope swatted the back of his head with her good hand and said, "You can hardly see two feet in front of you. You're lucky Percy stopped the second hit. Be grateful I let you __**live**__."_

_"I'm missing the unveiling of the new Nimbus prototype. Trust me, I'd feel better about it if I was dead."_

_Penelope cradled her hand to her chest, huffed, and walked faster before she quipped, "I hope Madam Pomfrey says you can't practice tomorrow. In fact, I'll let her know you have been running yourself down trying to win the Cup. She might even put you on bedrest."_

_Oliver gasped theatrically and pointed at her, "She's evil, Perce, save me!"_

_Percy laughed and caught up to Penelope, leaving Oliver behind as he said, "She's about as vicious as a puffskein."_

_Oliver sighed and walked behind them moodily. Penelope could tell he was really upset about missing the event he had been waiting two whole years for. She felt a bit guilty again but before she could turn around to apologize again, she skidded across the stone bridge on a patch of snow covered ice. When she crashed into a small pile of snow at the end of the bridge, she felt just fine. Nothing had been hurt except her pride._

_Until Percy crashed into her._

_After that, she saw stars._

_Once she was able think straight again, she felt him groan on top of her. When she shifted uncomfortably on the ground, he stopped straddling her and flopped onto the ground beside her._

_"Sorry." He wheezed but stood up quickly. He'd only had the wind knocked out of him when he hit her._

_She slowly sat up and the world spun. She laid back down in the snow._

_"That was amazing! Do it again!" Oliver guffawed from the end of the bridge. He would have laughed harder had it not hurt him so much to do so._

_She looked up at Percy and caught the startling amount of honest concern in his eyes._

_She sat up again and said, "I'm alright. Just, um, give me a second to make sure."_

_The world was only tilted slightly when he helped her up, and she held onto his sleeve to steady herself._

_"Are you sure you're okay? I'm so sorry, Pen-"_

_"I-know you 'uys were almost knocked unconthious ight 'ow, but I tink mah nose ehs bleedin' ahen." Oliver passed them and squinted as he walked up the path to the castle._

_Penelope took a deep breath and felt a lot better. She let go of Percy and was surprised when he held out his arm towards her. She looked up at him and he nodded at her own arm._

_"Oh, alright, thank you. You're so nice, Percy." She said, and she hooked her good arm through his._

_As they made their way through the castle to the Hospital Wing arm-in-arm, Penelope's curiosity got the best of her and she looked up at Percy. He had gotten much taller over the summer. She hadn't noticed it until that moment. He caught her staring, looked down at her, and smiled quickly before looking back up. She took note of the faint pink tint spreading over his ears and neck. He must have been cold. She shifted closer to him and the tint grew darker. She frowned worriedly before she stopped them both. He must have been freezing. They were in front of the Hospital Wing's shut doors._

_"Percy, thank you for escorting me back here. You didn't have to leave Hogsmeade for me." said Penelope, and she unwrapped the heavy, warm scarf from around her neck. She held it in her good hand and waited for him to respond._

_He stood confused for a second, after she stopped, but grinned when he replied, "How did you know I didn't do it for Wood?"_

_She smiled gamely, "You almost left him back at Spintwitches."_

_"I would have gone back for him eventually but you're the one who insisted he needed to see Madam Pomfrey," he looked down at her broken fingers, "Aren't you in pain? You haven't cried since we left."_

_"I have an incredibly high tolerance for pain. But yes, I am. I'm absolutely bawling on the inside."_

_"Well then, let's-"_

_She hurriedly let her scarf unfurl. She used her thumb and little finger to hold her wand upright. Her midnight scarf turned Gryffindor gold and she had it wrapped around his neck before he could say 'wha'._

_"You can give it back in Arithmancy Monday." Penelope had to stand on her toes to press a quick kiss to his cheek, "Thank you, Percy."_

_She slipped into the Hospital Wing so quickly that she didn't notice the goofy grin on his face._

* * *

"And when I went in and explained, Madam Pomfrey yelled at Oliver for everything while she fixed my hand." Penelope smiled fondly as the happy memory filled her with renewed energy. Her resolve strengthened, she opened up her tracking book again while Ginny told her more happy stories about Percy and her other brothers.

By the end of the night, when Fred and George brought back two cranky babies, Penelope had finished her new set of tracking runes.


	10. Chapter 10

The next day was Christmas Eve and Penelope really had tried to find time to activate her runes safely but Molly and Lucy seemed hellbent on keeping her from her work. She sighed wearily as she changed Lucy's nappy. They were incredibly fussy babies, demanding constant, close up attention and Penelope was their favorite person by far. She loved her girls and was often caught peppering them with tiny kisses to keep them happy.

She held onto Lucy's tiny foot and nearly burst into tears at the sight of her daughter. They were so beautiful, all squishy and wrinkled. She definitely loved them more than anything.

Once Lucy was changed, Penelope picked her up off of the bed, scooped Molly out of the cot, and took them out into the den to face the afternoon.

It had been a rough night.

She had had to keep adjusting the pillows which kept Molly from bumping her sister. They just did not keep still. She had stared at their tiny faces in the dim light for hours. Her heartache was far from being quelled. The journal on the bedside table had called to her and she read three entries before finally getting some sleep.

The entry from the days after she'd been petrified was stuck in her thoughts.

* * *

_May 14th, 1993_

_Penelope was petrified a week ago. Victims of petrification are paralysed and unmovable, and seem to be unconscious, though in some documented cases, victims claim to have been aware; it takes careful examination to discern whether a victim is petrified or dead. The difference between petrification and death is that the petrified victim appears to enter rigor mortis instantaneously and remains that way, while a dead person enters, and leaves it, within a normal timeframe._

_That's the textbook answer. It doesn't give me much comfort at the moment. Professor Sprout is very confident that the Mandrake Root will cure all of them, but that doesn't help either._

_Being able to hear her voice would help._

_Being able to see her smile would help._

_Being able to make her laugh would help._

_But she's not able to do any of those things in the state she's in. I miss her. I had no idea just how much I cared about her until this. It was probably my fault she was out in the first place. I should have never suggested she do the extra patrol with me, she's muggleborn, and I put her in danger._

_I love her._

_The textbook answer doesn't help in any way other than to remind me that the cold, hard Penny in the Hospital Wing is not dead._

_I could have lost her, had she not been found so quickly with Hermione. I'm glad they're not dead. When I returned to the dormitories, Oliver found out about our secret relationship. I had to tell him why I had started shaking so badly._

_I love Penelope Clearwater._

_And I want to tell her._

_I don't think she'll hear me._

_-Percy_

* * *

He had. And she remembered all too well just how hard it had been to hear it.

Once in the den, she noticed the eerie silence.

* * *

Ginny woke with a start when she felt a warm sensation on her chest. Her nap had been interrupted. She pulled out the galleon from her chain and her breath hitched as she read the inscription along the edge.

_'Cfmd: L.L.(R6) abtd -train. –N.L.(G7)'_

_No._

She scrambled from her small bed and nearly woke Arnold, her pygmy puff, as he slumbered next to her in the dresser. Ginny translated the galleon again.

_'Confirmed: Luna Lovegood (Ravenclaw 6th year) abducted from train. –Neville Longbottom (Gryffindor 7th year)'_

Ginny quickly weaved through the halls of Aunt Muriel's house until she came to the door she'd been looking for. She paused in her haste as she noticed the door wasn't completely closed. She opened it slowly and she couldn't help but feel disappointed that Penelope wasn't there. She shut the door behind her with a quick 'snap'.

"Penny," she called quietly, "Penelope, where are you?"

Penelope's voice carried from the den and Ginny ran to meet her. She looked at Ginny's panicked face, to the hallway, and back to Ginny.

"It's Luna. She's been taken by the Death Eaters."

Penelope gasped, "No. Why-…" She paused for a full second before jumping off of the floor and reaching into the bag by her side. Her entire arm disappeared into the bag before she pulled out a blank, folded newspaper. She snatched her wand from the bedside table and tapped on the paper twice before Ginny could make out a large 'Q' on the top.

"Bloody hell... How could I have been so _stupid_? I can't believe I forgot about this! Merlin, this was my only way to see- the only connection- urgh..." Penelope panicked and pulled at her hair before she collected herself.

She nodded at Ginny to sit beside her on the sofa and the two women waited for the lettering to appear across the paper.

"What is this? A Protean Charm?" Ginny watched in awe as the articles appeared on the Quibbler's front page.

"Exactly. I should have been looking at it every week. Seeing if Xeno had any updates on… well, on anything really. I'm so stupid! Here's today's." She quickly bypassed the front page and turned it over to read the back, "This is where he sends the coded messages."

The small paragraph located near the bottom of the page frightened the two girls.

_'Due to the Editor's rabbit going missing on the 20th, Xenophilius Lovegood will not be writing articles on Harry Potter or the Ministry of Magic. He feels it would be best until his rabbit is either found, or returned. If you would like to be updated on those subjects, please refer to the Daily Prophet. If you do not have access to the Prophet, remember that the Ministry is on Potter watch at the moment.'_

"Luna has been taken, but what's he saying about the Ministry and Potterwatch?" Ginny blanched as she realized just how bad it was.

"He's warning us. Oh Merlin, he's warning us, Ginny!" Her yell startled the twins. Lucy blinked rapidly while Molly made noises of protest from the blanket on the ground. Ginny stayed confused as Penelope hurriedly flipped through the Quibbler.

"Xeno knows the Death Eaters have Luna... Stay with the girls, Ginny." Penelope walked briskly into the kitchen of Aunt Muriel's house.

She found Arthur, Molly, a pregnant Tonks, and an anxious looking Lupin sitting around the table, discussing the Order's movements.

The older adults all turned to the noise she'd made.

"Luna's been taken by Death Eaters. They took her right off the train." Penelope twisted the paper in her hands.

Ginny entered the kitchen with a baby in each arm and let out a soft noise of protest as Molly tried to turn over in her arms. She made an adjustment and Molly snuggled into her sweater. She was hungry. Penelope's heart melted for the nth time since her daughters had been born. They were too adorable. The adults waited anxiously for her report.

"Mr. Lovegood has a code in the Quibbler. It's so simple, but barely anyone from the Ministry reads it. He said Luna's been taken because of his articles upsetting the Ministry. But, as horrible as it is to say, that's not the biggest problem right now. They know who's running Potterwatch and they're out to get them more than ever."

Lupin's stare swept from Penelope to his wife to Arthur. "They're targeting media now. They know more and more people are listening in and supporting Harry. It's exactly what he doesn't want."

Arthur nodded solemnly, "Get Fred and George in here, would you, Ginny? They were just here for the little meeting we had. They need to know to be extra careful."

Ginny handed Penelope the babies and ran out of the room to collect her twin brothers and Penelope handed Lucy to Tonks, who smiled brightly at her. Being a mother was much harder than she thought. _Maybe because he's not here to help you._

"Arthur, you can't be serious," Molly turned on her husband, "You have to tell them to stop the show! They almost got caught the last time, and now there are even more people after them!"

"Molly, they're saving people's lives. They're giving people hope and helping them know what they're up against." Arthur wasn't going to change his mind. Potterwatch was such an enormous help to what was left of the Order.

Molly pressed her lips together in anger. Penelope watched in horror as Molly stood quickly and marched straight out of the room. Arthur sighed before getting a nod from Lupin. He followed her out.

Penelope sighed and smiled tiredly at Tonks, who waved her over to sit by her. She smiled wider when little Molly kicked happily in her arms as she fed her.

"Oh, they're adorable, complete sweethearts!" Tonks morphed her hair shorter as Lucy tried to get her hands on the pink strands.

Penelope laughed, "You only think that because you don't have to watch them all hours of the day. They're usually pleasant when people interact with them, but leave them to themselves for more than a minute and they're inconsolable for hours." Tonks only brightened and made small cooing noises to Lucy, who enjoyed it as much as a one week old could.

"Just think, Remus, in about four months, we'll have one too!" While Tonks beamed, Penelope noticed how weary and worried her old DADA teacher looked at the prospect.

He mumbled a yes that no one heard because of a harsh shout that echoed through the room.

"I WON'T LOSE ANOTHER SON!" A door slammed and the mood of the shout reverberated through the occupants of the kitchen. Penelope felt Molly flinch against her but she rubbed her back soothingly before she could start crying.

There were no more words between the adults, only the sounds of cooing babies, until Ginny returned with some bad news.

"They're not here."

* * *

George set up all the wards he knew as Fred and Lee set up the equipment as fast as they could. He didn't question Fred when he suggested they'd have an emergency broadcast on Christmas Eve of all days. It'd been some time since the last one and it was nice to see Lee again. Plus, the news on their D.A. galleons about Luna was important. But, George had to wonder if there was another reason for his twin's stir craziness the past few weeks.

The two of them had had a nice long chat about Percy over a month ago. He had very much redeemed himself in their eyes. They swore to make sure their brother knew it as soon as they saw him next. After they found out he was dead, they'd had another, sadder chat. As much as both twins wanted to believe Penelope, they couldn't bring themselves to hold onto that last shred of hope. It would be too devastating when they finally found his body. If there was one. He shivered.

Lee flipped a few switches and a red light flashed on and off in the darkness of their makeshift hideout. He spoke solemnly.

_'Greetings, to all of our listeners. We start today's broadcast with some sad news. We regret to inform you that the remains of Bathilda Bagshot have been discovered in Godric's Hollow. The evidence is that despite sightings of her out walking in Godric's Hollow, Bathilda died several months ago. The Order of the Phoenix informs us that her body showed unmistakable signs of injury inflicted by Dark Magic._

_Sadly, these aren't the only deaths that the News Network and Daily Prophet didn't think important enough to mention. It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murder of Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell. A goblin by the name of Gornuk was also killed. It is believed that Muggle-born Dean Thomas and a second goblin, both believed to be travelling with Tonks, Cresswell, and Gornuk, may have escaped. If Dean is listening, your parents and sisters are pretty desperate for news. _

_Unfortunately, the Ministry's gotten word of our dear show, and doesn't fancy us too much. But don't you worry, we're not giving up!_

_And neither should you! We have some news, actually, Rapier has news I don't even know, so- have at it.'_

Lee let Fred take over, as neither of the twins had filled him in on what had happened since the last time they'd seen each other.

_'There's been a- Another casualty on the good guy side. Percy Weasley was arrested by the Miserable Ministry back in late October. Turns out the Assistant to the Minister of Magic wasn't corrupt like everyone around him. Percy supplied information to many Order members anonymously and managed to sneak hundreds of Muggle-borns out of the country. If any of you are missing a friend or family member, it is possible that they are in hiding somewhere in North America or France. As I said, Percy was arrested in late October and he was taken to Azkaban… I am… especially unhappy to report that a reliable source informed us of Percy's death almost two weeks ago. He will be greatly missed.'_

Lee took over after George hurriedly whispered the whole story to him.

_'Yes, he will, Rapier. In other news, the slick git Severus Snape has allowed one of his students, Luna Lovegood, to be kidnapped by Death Eaters from the Hogwarts Express. Luna's whereabouts and current condition are unknown but please keep the brave blonde in your thoughts. It has also been revealed that they are using the Imperious Curse at Hogwarts. You probably know this if you have children attending, but things at Hogwarts aren't like they used to be. But, don't fret, because Hogwarts has some of the most powerful witches and wizards as professors, and those ones are on our side.'_

Fred jumped back in.

'_As for news on Harry? Well, he's been hiding out somewhere, and Harry- if you're listening, we're all behind you, 100 percent…We have to go off the air now, but as we do, we ask you to take a moment's silence, in memory of those who have fallen.'_

Lee flipped the switch and the red light flickered off. The three friends sat in darkness.

"I'm sorry… About Percy- I mean, that's rough." Lee struggled as he failed to think of something to cheer his ever-cheerful friends up.

Fred and George nodded but didn't say anything.

"We need to leave." Lee finally said, after a thunder clap sounded nearby. The 20 year olds stood in tandem.

"See you blokes later?"

"As always."

They apparated in one loud 'snap'.

* * *

Christmas Day wasn't as pleasant as it could have been. The twins had taken hours to return and made it back in the earliest hours of the day. Molly was far from pleased.

Ginny and Penelope cringed when they heard another slapping sound of wood on flesh resonating from the kitchen, followed by more muffled reprimands.

"They shouldn't have left." Ginny shook her head and held little Molly in the air. The babies were so teeny.

Penelope rocked Lucy in her arms. "I just think they should've told someone they were leaving."

They heard another smack.

"Mum thinks so too."

Penelope tucked Lucy into her lap and let the baby grasp her index fingers. Lucy started bouncing them happily. Ginny set baby Molly down on the couch and played with the tiny feet of her niece.

The door to the kitchen opened slowly as George stepped out, rubbing his forearm, and Fred followed his twin out, holding the side of his head.

Mrs. Weasley walked out after them, still wielding a wooden spoon in her crossed arms. "Now, stay here and _behave_." She returned to the kitchen muttering about grown up children.

"…so….," Penelope cautiously approached George and Fred and said, "Happy Christmas, I guess."

* * *

After popping the crackers, Arthur, Molly, Lupin, Tonks, Charlie, Muriel, Fred, George, Ginny, and Penelope sat for Christmas dinner while Molly the second and Lucy took well deserved naps. Crying and eating and pooping all day took a lot of work.

Penelope noticed just how subdued the Weasley's were in comparison to the dinner they had had together the day before.

_It's their first Christmas with him dead_.

She immediately took back her thought.

_He's not dead._

She put down her fork quietly and scanned the table. Arthur was carefully avoiding making eye contact with his wife, who was putting on a strained smile as Aunt Muriel complained about the blandness of the potato salad. Remus and Tonks were speaking in undertones to each other. Charlie and Ginny were making a game of launching peas at each other without their mother noticing, but Penelope could see they were just trying to distract themselves. George kept drinking glass after glass of water and nervously flipping his fork between his fingers. She turned to her other side and caught Fred's watery stare before her hand shot to her mouth to stop the gasp that threatened to break the precarious peace of the table. Her hand dropped back to the table as she collected herself but Ginny had noticed her strange movement.

"Are you alright, Penelope?"

All eyes turned to her and she felt increasingly uncomfortable as she looked around.

Her chair slid out and almost toppled over in her haste to escape the table. "I need a minute."

She made it all the way back to her room before she started crying softly. She cast a silencing charm in the room and near herself to make sure no one could hear her, not even her daughters who were sleeping just meters away. She screamed.

"Why are you still gone?!"

She pulled out Percy's journal, opened it, and yanked the special quill from its hiding place. She turned the pages all the way to the back and started writing on the very last page.

'Come back to me. I need you. I love you. Can you hear me?'

She blew on the ink and waited for it to dry and disappear before she put the quill away and shoved the book back into the bedside table dresser. She willed her hands to stop shaking and for her breaths to stop coming out so rapidly.

She screamed again and buried her face into a pillow. She pulled at her hair and kicked her feet against the bed. Sweet Rowena, she needed to get it together.

As she calmed down, she looked at her tiny daughters. They were so innocent. They had no clue their daddy was-

She held back another scream and used the pent up energy to clear a space in the room for her runes. She shoved the large floor rug into a corner and revealed clean wood flooring. Her wand illuminated shapes on the ground as she read her custom incantation and thought of Percy. Once she finished writing the runes on the ground, she took one of Percy's jumpers from a stack in the closet and placed it in the center.

She steeled herself for the next step. It was this step that made the magic both powerful and slightly dark. Blood magic was so tricky, but it would be worth it. She conjured a tiny syringe. She felt slightly nauseous as she drew a vial of her own blood from her arm. Merlin, she hated needles. Once she finished, she set her own blood aside and turned to the cot in the corner of the room. Her heart hurt. It had to be done. She conjured a smaller, more complex syringe and approached her sleeping daughters. She felt like crying as she performed a numbing charm on Molly's foot. She made quick work of drawing exactly ten drops of blood from her eldest daughter.

Molly hardly twitched and Penelope felt relieved that the worst was over.

She took the vial of her blood and cast a hovering charm to keep it in the air as she added her daughter's drops to the vial. The special glass closed itself. Satisfied that her next step would work, she muttered her incantation and threw the glass into the center of the rune circle and onto Percy's jumper. The puff of smoke that rose from the spot was anticlimactic.

For a moment, she wondered if her calculations had been off.

A bigger plume of smoke rose and she panicked when she felt herself being drawn into the circle. Her eyes shut closed, took a few steps forward, and heard a loud snapping noise. She felt like vomiting as a strange sensation swept through her.

When she opened her eyes, she fell to her knees at the sight waiting for her.

"Percy."

She knew that back well.

He was lying on his side, on a grimy floor, facing away from her. She scanned the room and was amazed that she'd actually managed to complete the spell without the full blown sacrifices. The only compromises she had had to make were the time limit and the intangibility. She'd only have a few minutes, and she was unable to move from her spot. The dimly lit room felt dirty and private. It was cold.

She called out again, "Percy!"

He didn't stir.

Her heart leapt into her throat. She moved towards him but felt magic ropes holding her in place. She felt angry. She had to get to him, to see his face, to make sure.. He couldn't be..

Penelope squinted in the dark at her unresponsive husband and a strangled scream inched its way up her throat when she noticed the dried pool of blood his head was lying in.

"Percy! Percy! Get up!" she frantically tried to escape the tight magic holding her in her spot, "Percy! They need you!"

A thick fog began to spread over the room and she pushed even harder against the restraints she herself had created.

"I need you!" She felt one rope come undone and she broke through the restraints on her right side. Her time was running out.

"No! No! Darling, wake up!_ Wake up_!" she screamed hoarsely and tears trailed down her face. She had imagined finding him before. He was supposed to be shocked to see her. He wasn't supposed to be on the ground. He was supposed to tell her he loved her. He wasn't supposed to be so still.

He was supposed to be _alive_.

She tugged on the restraint on her left arm and it painfully pulled her back. She couldn't give up, he was so close, she would save him, he couldn't be dead. The fog thickened and it was harder to see him. Her arms ached and she ignored the fire stirring in her legs. She hit the ropes once more and they snapped.

As soon as she broke through the restraint on her left side, she jumped towards Percy.

"_PLEASE, PERC_-"

Her fingertips had almost grazed the tips of his collar when her time ran out.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: I know people are reading this. Please review! :(

This chapter is a little shorter than last, but just as important. This tale is almost over! I have a few endings written out and it all depends on the feedback I get.

* * *

Ginny found it strange that Penelope hadn't returned after half an hour passed. She excused herself from the table quietly and slowly made her way to the older girl's room. She knocked on the door twice. Her knocks made no noise. She studied the door and knocked a few more times, only to have the same phenomenon result. She began to feel nervous. There was a silencing charm on the door. That might have meant Penelope didn't want to be disturbed but Ginny had a bad feeling about leaving. She reached for her wand and remembered that her mother had confiscated their wands before dinner. In the end, she settled on snatching Fred and George from the living room and telling them what had happened.

"Maybe she just wants to be alone right now, Gin."

"I'm not too keen on getting my bollocks hexed off if we barge in."

Ginny huffed, "Just unlock the door for me. You cowards can stay out here."

While Fred and George worked on unlocking the door the Muggle way, Ginny mentally prepared herself to deal with another one of Penelope's meltdowns. George nudged her when they were quickly successful. Ginny slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. It barely budged. She concentrated on breaking the silencing charm with pure will. It worked. Molly and Lucy were wailing and hiccuping, and Fred, tired of waiting for Ginny to open the door fully, plucked Ginny away from it and slammed his weight into the sticky door. It swung open and the three Weasley siblings gasped in horror at the scene in front of them.

Ginny didn't care about the still glowing circle on the floor. She only worried about the unconscious woman in the middle of it. Penelope was pale and shaking and Ginny noticed there was blood and glass on the ground. She turned to her brothers.

"Go get help, idiots!" She pulled Penelope away from the center of the circle as her brothers left and grimaced at the trail of blood she was leaving on the floor. The cries emanating from the cot got louder. She shook Penelope roughly by her shoulders. It didn't work.

"What did you do?" she whispered in defeat. She looked back at the circle and saw a familiar jumper covered in blood and bits of glass. She turned back to Penelope.

"Is that Dark Magic?"

She didn't get a response.

* * *

_Penelope opened her eyes and sighed in contentment. The giant shady tree by the Black Lake hid the three, err, four from the burning sunshine and from the people milling about the grounds on the next to last day of the school year. N.E.W.T.'s were over and many Seventh Years were wandering about the school, trying to fit as many final memories in as possible before they left. She turned to her left and giggled at the sight of Oliver clutching the Quidditch Cup to himself as though Snape was going to come snatch it away at any moment. Behind and to her right, Percy sat against the trunk of the old tree, looking out over the lake. She sat up from her spot on the grass._

_Her time at Hogwarts was truly over. It had been a long seven years; seven years in an entirely new world for her. The magical world was still a mystery waiting to be solved, though. She looked up at Ravenclaw Tower and felt her heart ache._

_This was her home._

_She was accepted here. She excelled within the castle walls. She couldn't help but wonder if she would be successful in the rest of the wizarding world. She really hoped her N.E.W.T.'s would be acceptable. Her aunt had lined up an internship for her and Esmeralda at Obscurus Publishing, so worrying about a job was low on her list of things to stress over. At the top of the list, her living arrangements._

_Her parents hadn't been too happy when she made the decision to work in Diagon Alley. They were less pleased when they found out her aunt had set it all up. They never understood why their bright daughter never wanted to go to university. She knew why. She didn't belong in the Muggle world. As soon as she had found out about her abilities, she decided to embrace them fully._

_And now her parents were barely speaking to her._

_It was a good thing she had worked at the local cinema the past four summers. She had saved almost all of her earnings and would use that to split the rent with Esmeralda in their new apartment. It was a dingy place but with a little love, and a lot more magic, it would be perfect for the two of them._

_Leaving the safety of Hogwarts for the real world would be tough, but she'd manage. She laid back down in the cool grass, stared at the branches and leaves above her, and sighed again._

_Everything was changing. She would save the tears for when she got back to her dormitory. Surely Anna, Ezzy, Gloria, and Beatrice would cry with her. It would be their last night at the top of the tower._

_Penelope pulled on the grass as she thought about all the fond memories within the Great Hall, and in the Tower, and in the library, and, she giggled softly, in the dungeons._

_"What are you laughing about?" Percy's voice cut through her reverie._

_She sat up quickly and regretted looking at him because her face turned bright red. When he raised a brow at her, she turned a deeper red and smothered a nervous laugh._

_Oliver, having noticed the break in the silence, snorted. "Somethin' dirty, by the look of absolute embarrassment on 'er face."_

_Penelope tried to save face by arguing with Oliver. "Don't tease me!"_

_The wicked grin on his face should have sent her running, but she stayed put._

_"I've heard things about you and," he paused and pointed towards Percy, who looked uncomfortable, "Trust me, s'not me who's the tease, love."_

_Oh, right, that's why she never argues with Oliver, because he's downright shameless._

_She spun around and caught a flash of guilt flying across her boyfriend's face. Scandalized, she huffed and scooted further from the boys and closer to the lake._

_"Why don't you just keep getting off with your trophy, Wood?" she snapped at him._

_"Don' be jealous, ya great prude."_

_She heard a quick slap and a groan of pain. When she spun around, Oliver was holding the back of his head and Percy was the picture of innocence. She smothered a chuckle, if only because she was still a bit miffed at him. She wiggled closer to the edge of the lake and looked towards the Greenhouses. She squinted and was surprised to see many of the upper years from Hufflepuff congregated by the lakeside._

_"What are they doing there?" She asked._

_Before anyone could answer, a loud screeching noise travelled across the lake. It stopped abruptly and was replaced by a Weird Sisters song._

_"My guess is they're throwing a party." Percy appeared next to her by the edge of the lake. He took a seat by her and carefully placed his arm over her shoulders before he pulled her a little bit closer._

_"Bloody Puffs. They always have the best parties. They've got some sort of weird friendship with the House Elves cause they're so close to the kitchens." Oliver had lugged himself to her other side. He had parted with the Cup at the tree, if only to prevent it from getting dirty near the lake._

_Penelope sighed. She had already forgiven them both. She was such a sucker. She laid her head against Percy and watched as some of the Hufflepuff partiers started to strip and dive into the lake. Cedric Diggory was a sight on an ordinary day, but a shirtless, wet Diggory... Well, no one would blame her for looking more than once. She snuggled into her boyfriend's side._

_"You're only complaining because you've never been invited to one.", quipped Percy, and he took a moment to look at the petite girl next to him. She felt his stare and pulled away from him with a thoughtful look on her face. It was quickly replaced by a mischievous smile. He was never sure what would happen when she got that look in her eye._

_She pulled out her wand and muttered a transfiguration incantation. He recognized it vaguely. She hurriedly stood and took off her outer robe. She started unbuttoning her blouse._

_Percy quickly picked himself off the ground and used his own cloak to cover her up._

_"W-what are you doing?"_

_"If they can get away with throwing a full blown lakeside party, we can have our own fun." She shrugged off his cloak and took off her shirt to reveal a cute, modest one-piece bathing suit. She slipped out of her skirt before he could stop her and ran out into the lake. The cold water bit at her exposed skin and she let out a short yelp before throwing caution to the wind and plunging in._

_After a minute, she turned and found Percy gaping at her. She looked around but couldn't find Oliver anywhere._

_"Are you trying to make me look stupid?" She called from the water, and she splashed towards him._

_"What?"_

_"I think I look pretty foolish out here by myself."_

_He knew what she was trying to do. There was no way he was about to give in._

_"Yeah, I suppose you do. Maybe you should get out before all your dignity washes away." He smirked. She changed tactics immediately._

_She pouted. "Percy, please! This is our last day. Have some fun." As she pleaded, she swam further into the lake. _

_"Penelope Clearwater, you get back here and put some clothes on."_

_"Make me!" She called out and jumped up and down in the water. Her feet were barely touching the bottom._

_"Don't be childish." He turned away from her and she smiled slyly. She had seen the way he had watched her bounce. She might have been a little miffed on any other day, but today, she was using her femininity to drive him bonkers._

_Penelope knew he was about to cave._

_"Fine, you big- Ah!" She quickly faced away from the shore and made a show of looking back and forth. She schooled her features into a scared expression. She yelped again and slowly walked towards the shore. She could feel his nervousness. She took rapid, short breaths._

_For a moment, she considered she was being a bit harsh. After that moment, she comforted herself, knowing he would thank her later._

_"Percy! Percy, the- a-" She took one deep breath and let herself be 'dragged' under the surface. She swam until she had a firm grip on some weeds on the lake floor. She waited there, confident he would take the bait. Her chest was getting rather uncomfortable. Where was he?_

_He didn't believe her. At all._

_That prat. She'd show him. He wasn't the only person who could manipulate a situation. She swam back to the surface quickly. She gasped for air before she locked eyes with him. He was just sitting along the shore, raising his brows in a way that screamed, 'Are you finished yet?'_

_She was far from it._

_"Do something! Please!" She swam erratically towards him before making it look as though something was after her. A quick chill sped through her body when something slimy wrapped around her leg, and she screamed,"PERC-"_

* * *

She sat up, disoriented and nauseated. There were tiny, black spots in front of her and she shut her eyes until she was sure they would be gone. The room was quiet.

Her memories were hazy. She'd just been pulled into the lake by the Giant Squid... No.. She was in a dark room.. No, it was definitel-

_Oh... oh._

The memory at the lake had happened years ago. The squid had released her as soon as Percy was completely underwater. They had surfaced together and that was when Oliver returned with about half of all of Gryffindor House, all ready to party before the end of term feast. It was her happiest memory at Hogwarts.

The other memory washing over her was much more recent and was immediately categorized as the worst of her life.

The door swung open and Tonks looked surprised to see Penelope up and awake. Penelope felt the question in the air.

"I saw him." She said in a hoarse whisper. Tonks moved into the room and stood anxiously by her bedside.

"Do you want me to get someon-"

"He's dead."

"What?"

"My husband- He's dead." Penelope felt her heart breaking as she gradually recalled the entire horrific moment she found him. Tonks didn't seem to know what to say to that and she moved back to the door and ordered Penny to stay put while she got help.

He couldn't be-.. No.

She just couldn't deny it any longer. She'd seen it herself. She sat silently, with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head lowered, until Molly rushed into the room. Penelope lifted her head and the two women held eye contact for half a minute before Molly spoke.

"Are you alright, Sweetie?"

Penelope shook her head.

Molly took her into her arms in a tight hug that Penelope reciprocated immediately. And she cried and cried and Molly cried with her.

She cried for the last shred of hope that was lost, for the children who would never know their father, for all the mistakes that led up to the demise of the only man she'd ever loved. She'd loved him from the moment he doused her fears of pureblood prejudices, even if she hadn't known it then. And she had kept loving him, through all the years, always making herself available for when he needed her most, whether it be needing a study partner or catching him when he fell. And she cried more when she blamed herself. She hadn't caught him this time.

She should have left the country with Ezzy. He wouldn't have had anything to hide. He could have continued his work. She could have had the twins in France, out of danger. But she didn't, and the price she paid for a few more months with him was far too high.

She could have had a lifetime.


	12. Chapter 12

Penelope changed after that Christmas. No longer disillusioned, her hopes dashed, and her heart broken, she often followed Molly around the house with the twins, instead of socializing with the her sister-in-law or her brother-in-laws, like she had been since she arrived at the Burrow that day in October. Everyone tried their best to cheer her up, but the truth was out, and no one could really ignore it any longer. The tiny sliver of hope they'd held in their hearts was gone, and the pain of losing a family member returned with full force. Things were quiet at Muriel's house.

Until the end of January.

Penelope had just given the six week olds a quick wash and was patting them dry when something broke the silence. She stopped absently petting their tummies and blinked in confusion. The sound was so... light. She lightly prodded Lucy's foot and she knew exactly where the sound came from. It chimed again.

It was a laugh.

It was high, innocent, and just plain goofy.

Penelope poked Molly's tummy.

Molly laughed and smiled just the same as her sister.

Penelope couldn't stop her own smile from appearing after weeks of sadness. She dried the giggling girls off completely and redressed them in fuzzy, purple onesies. They had grown into their wrinkly skin well and were quite plump. Penelope also noticed their hair had thickened and groaned softly because their dark mops were clearly going to be just as ridiculously curly as her own. After she settled them in her arms, she made her way down the hall to Ginny's room. She tapped on it lightly with her foot and Ginny let her in. She placed the babies on their backs on Ginny's bed and moved some pillows to make sure they were blocked on each side. Ginny laid down to block another side and Penelope moved to be across from her sister-in-law.

She smiled again. "Listen."

She made a goofy face at Lucy and tickled her tiny stomach. Lucy gave an obligatory giggle. Ginny squealed and grinned at Penelope.

"That's so cute."

Penelope continued to entertain little Lucy while Ginny let Molly yank her hair, which made the little girl laugh loudly. Penelope's small smile grew with each tinkering laugh out of her daughters, until she felt a tiny laugh escape her own lips. Her heavy heart felt so much lighter.

This is what made life worth living. The two little girls she'd worried over so much even before they'd been born, they were her future now. While the idyllic future she'd imagined had definitely included Percy and herself growing incredibly old together, and that would never happen, she still had her girls. With a breath of new life, she laughed freely. Her daughters looked at her like she put the stars in the sky.

She'd make sure they'd know their father. They'd know he loved them, even if he'd never gotten the chance to meet them. She'd make sure they knew his story.

A thought struck her._ His story..._

No one in the wizarding world would dare think poorly of Percy Ignatius Weasley in the future. She'd make sure of it.

* * *

A few days passed and Penelope woke especially early when she realized the Quibbler was due for its quarterly edition. She quickly accessed her paper and watched the back page as it changed.

_'Editor Xenophilius Lovegood was taken to Azkaban on December 28th. His house was burned to the ground when Jr. Editor Timothy Franks came to check on the a new article. Lovegood's daughter has also been missing for some time and is believed to have run away. Due to unique circumstances, the Quibbler will not continue production until further notice. We are sorry for the inconvenience.'_

She floundered out of the room, ran back to make sure Molly and Lucy were secure in their cot, and turned around again. She ran into Mr. Weasley in the hall.

"Oh, Arthur! It's Xeno, look here, he's been taken to Azkaban." She handed him the paper and he read it, astonished at the small script.

He frowned at the thought of his strange neighbor suffering in prison.

"He's already been there for a month... Someone in the Order will know more… I'm actually on my way to speak with Kingsley, he'll know something about this. Thank you, Penelope." Arthur took the paper with him as he left the hall and Penelope let out a long breath to calm herself down.

They were angry, done. The Ministry had, apparently, enough of Xeno's pro-Potter articles. She wondered how it could get any worse. Percy was dead, Luna was kidnapped, Xeno was in Azkaban, and her parents-… her parents had no clue where their daughter was, no clue of the war raging around them, no damn clue they were grandparents. She supposed they wouldn't care.

She hadn't spoken to her parents since they'd practically disowned her. Penelope shook herself and straightened up her posture.

She wouldn't- couldn't allow herself to mope any longer. She would strong for her daughters and new family. She'd be strong for him. He would want her to keep everything together.

Penelope returned to her room, uncovered her husband's journal and turned to the first page. She sat along the edge of the bed and ran her finger over her own name before she opened to the center of the book.

_'December 25th 1991,_

_The twins made a fool of me again. I had planned on sitting next to the Ravenclaw Prefect Penelope Clearwater during breakfast this morning, as she has also decided to stay at school for the holiday. They managed to trap me in the sweater Mum made and dragged me all the way to the Great Hall. Of course, along the way, we bumped into Penelope._

_She laughed at me. Not a small, shy giggle either. She roared with laughter the moment she saw me in between those troublemakers. I'm pretty sure she snorted._

_I doubt she'll ever accept my invitation to Hogsmeade next month after that episode. Or ever._

_Such is the life of the responsible older brother.'_

She sighed in nostalgia. She remembered laughing at his beet red face as the twins had marched him clear down the steps of the Grand Staircase. Oh, how she remembered the way he avoided her until the spring because he was so embarrassed.

She turned back to the Table of Contents. She ran a finger over his own name and chose the last entry. She'd been putting it off for ages.

_'October 24th, 1997_

_Penelope's going mad. I would too, if I was stuck in the flat 24/7. It makes me anxious knowing she's having such a difficult pregnancy and we can't even see a Healer. I'm just about ready to ship Penny to Ezmeralda in France. She'd take care of her._

_Things at the Ministry are worse than ever. Umbridge is getting too close._

_I don't want to talk about that._

_I'd much rather think of happier things. Like my wife._

_She's asleep right now._

_All of the things I've done up to this point have been for her.-'_

Penelope abruptly shut the journal. There was another block of his perfect penmanship underneath that sentence, and she just didn't think she'd be able to handle just what he had to say about her. She missed him with all the magic in her soul.

She missed the way he dotted his 'i's with tiny circles. The way he took his tea without milk but always with three sugars. The way he braided her long hair without catching on the tangles. The way he would always fall asleep before her. The way he took care of their one potted plant named Germaine.

The familiar pull of depression tore at her but she pushed it away with a heavy sigh. She placed his journal on the bedside table.

She would remember Percy to the fullest, and if that was the only way to keep him alive in her mind, then she'd read that book until the pages fell to dust.

"Ahhh."

The noise caused her to snap out of her sadness.

She smiled slowly and raced to the twin's cot. Her daughters didn't look at her. They were looking at each other with gooey smiles on their faces. Penelope tilted her head to the side in confusion until she noticed Lucy had a good grip on Molly's sleeve. Her younger daughter tugged on the bit of clothing and Molly burst into short, hiccup-like giggles. In turn, Lucy started her own bout of laughing. Penelope had to restrain herself from laughing herself. She didn't want to ruin the moment she was witnessing. Lucy tugged on Molly again and the twins high pitched pseudo-laughter filled the room.

"Good morning, sweets." Penelope batted her eyelashes at them and felt a rush of affection when Molly reached out for her. She picked up her daughter with ease and peppered her face with kisses. She swept her hand over the swirly, dark hair that covered Molly's head. Penelope made an executive decision then and there not to cut the girls' hair until they really needed a good trim. She didn't want to ruin the curls that would definitely take shape later on. Penelope couldn't even remember the last time she'd gotten her own hair cut. Curious, she looked at the ends and found they were just at her hips, like always. She shrugged it off and picked up Lucy.

Lucy was a stormy baby, always having the strangest mood swings. One minute, she'd be wailing and angry and the next, she'd be giggling like mad. Penelope took every turn in stride. Molly was never fussy. She liked to observe everything she was given to grasp, and it was always a fight to get whatever little toy she had in her hands back into the toy bag.

Penelope and the girls entered the den of Muriel's home and found Fred and George tinkering with a product.

"Good morning, boys."

She received grunts of acknowledgement in return. She rolled her eyes and set out a blanket for Molly and Lucy to lie on. Molly stretched her arms up and out, and would have hit Lucy right in the face, had it not been for Penelope putting her arm between them quickly.

"Already not getting along?" George chuckled and put down the glowing triangle he had been working on. The glow faded away. Fred followed suit and banished their work to their room. Both men joined her on the floor next to the watchful babies.

Fred nodded sagely, "Not very surprised. Sibling rivalries start early."

"They love each other," Penelope sighed and moved them further apart, "You should've seen them a few minutes ago. They were playing and laughing with each other."

"Laughing?" The twins asked in unison.

"Oh yeah, you just got back yesterday. They're _laughing_ now. It sounds so funny." Penelope proceeded to blink rapidly and coo at Lucy. The little girl smiled wide and a high, strange laugh filled the room. Fred and George couldn't help but laugh along.

Molly the First watched from the doorway as her twin boys helped her daughter-in-law make the youngest Weasleys giggle. The sound was a nice change, as the silence that had taken over the house had started to become suffocating.


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry about the delay. I love this story so much I feel like I'm subconsciously putting off posting because I don't want it to end.  
Please review, because we're almost done. Just a few more chapters and I have two endings, depending on feedback. So, happy or sad? You decide...

SHORTEST CHAPTER EVER ALERT. Just warning you. Next chapter is very long though.

* * *

Four months passed without any major catastrophe, unless you count the day where Molly and Lucy disappeared for twenty minutes underneath an old, tattered invisibility cloak while the family sorted through the basement. April was upon them. Everyone in the house was excited as Bill had announced that he'd be dropping by that day. Visits were rare. No one, especially not Penelope, had expected to see him enter with Mr. Ollivander and Luna Lovegood.

Penelope felt the air get knocked out of her lungs as the petite, long-haired blonde girl smiled toothily at her from behind Bill. She turned to Fred and George, who were holding onto the watchful babies, and back to Luna with the brightest smile any of them had seen on her in a while.

"Luna!" She wasted no time in gathering the younger girl in her arms in a tight hug. She giggled giddily and Luna glowed with happiness.

"You were a lot fatter when I saw you last time." Luna smiled at Penelope. Fred and George didn't hold back their loud laughs.

Ginny grinned before hugging Bill tightly around the middle, thanking him for bringing her friend back.

Bill looked decidedly uncomfortable.

"Actually, it was a house elf that saved them. Did you know Dobby?"

Fred, George, and Ginny nodded enthusiastically. Bill looked even more uncomfortable.

Luna broke away from her hug and her smile faded. "He was a nice elf. It's a shame he died."

"Dobby…" Ginny bit her lip. Penelope saw the cogs turning in her sister-in-law's mind. Something was very wrong if this 'Dobby' was dead.

"Yes, he was very polite."

Penelope finally noticed how Luna's face was covered in yellow, healing bruises. "Luna, don't those hurt?… C'mon, I can make it better." She pulled the younger girl through the halls and Ginny followed behind them.

As soon as Ginny shut the door behind her, she snapped her gaze to Luna. "How is he?"

Luna looked confused, "He's dead."

Ginny paled horribly before realizing her mistake, "Not Dobby! _Harry_! I know he was there, that's the only reason you could have seen Dobby!"

Luna blinked. "Oh, he's fine. I don't know what it is that they're doing, but they're... alright."

Luna's vague answer seemed to frustrate Ginny. Penelope tapped her wand gently on Luna's forehead and the yellow tint vanished, as did the slight pain. Ginny sighed in relief.

"Thank Merlin… Luna- what happened to you?"

"Oh, they didn't like what Daddy's been writing, you see. So they took me off the train to make him stop. I hope Neville's been alright, running the DA by himself must be stressful."

"By himself? Oh no, Luna, I've been reading my galleon lately, it seems like he's got Seamus and Terry and Ernie helping him run things." Ginny moved back to the door, ready to give Luna and Penelope their time to reconnect.

It was then that Penelope saw something she'd never seen before. Luna was _blushing_.

"Luna, are you alright?" Penelope raised a brow towards her little sister figure.

"Oh, yes. You know…" Luna schooled her facial features and Penelope knew she would get her answers in due time, "Penelope?"

"Yes?"

"Where's Percy?"

Oh. _Oh_. Had no one told her? Had no one thought it important to tell her? Oh no.

The words must have shown on her face because Luna's smiled dropped instantly and she released a tiny, 'Oh.'

"I'm sorry, Penelope. He was very nice to me. Like a friend." Luna's voice wavered at the end, which meant a lot to Penelope, considering Luna had never reacted poorly to hearing about death.

They sat together in silence until George and Fred brought Molly and Lucy in for their naps.

Penelope introduced them to Luna, luckily for her, they were in perfect moods for a good nap. She had Luna hold Lucy while she took Molly and wandlessly summoned a bottle from the bedside table. As she fed her daughter, Penelope couldn't help but notice how at ease Luna looked. She shouldn't have been that surprised. Kids always _loved_ Luna.

"They look like you." Luna mentioned, and she played softly with Lucy's short, dark curls.

"I'd hope so, they are mine."

"I want to give them my anklets."

Penelope's mouth formed a tiny 'o' in surprise.

* * *

_"They won't stop. It's so frustrating. They're lucky I rarely stay in the tower anymore." Penelope pulled a bit of string through her fingers and weaved it with another._

_Percy finally looked up from his Arithmancy homework. He caught Penelope violently weaving in another string._

_"I'd say take points but they'd probably be worse."_

_"I keep telling them to leave her alone but they keep taking her stuff and she doesn't say anything. I have to tell Professor Flitwi-..." She started smiling, in the way Percy recognized as pure evil. "Better idea."_

_She put down the mass of string in her hand and raced away into her room. When she returned, she brought out four long strands of brightly colored string from and equally bright box._

_"What's that?" Percy had already put his book down and came closer to inspect what she was doing. Penelope furiously weaved the strings together until they started forming a neatly colored band. Her finger movements were efficient after years of fiddling with friendship bracelets with Esmerelda and Beatrice. She was done with the first one in just a few minutes._

_"Protection. Aunt Belle gave these to me. They're enchanted. I'm going to give two to Luna." She tied a knot, sifted through her normal craft box, and slipped on a tiny, silver charm shaped like a rabbit onto the strings._

_Percy nodded approvingly and asked, "How will they work?"_

_"Auntie said they'd ward off things with ill intent, like angry wasps or jealous tarts. I never got around to making them." She smiled brightly as she found another rabbit charm to add to the second bracelet._

_"But how does it do that?"_

_Penelope laughed shortly. "Zaps 'em."_

_She noticed Percy's smiled disappear immediately. "Penelope, you do know you can't kill people right? Or should I be worried?"_

_She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, after seven years, I think you'd know if I was a murderous vigilante by now. And it's just a little zap. Like a bee sting. That's all. I just hope those girls get the message. They will not mess with Luna without consequence any longer."_

_"Remind me to never get on your bad side."_

* * *

And Luna, being Luna, had accepted the bracelets and hooked them around her ankles. They didn't work as well from there, but her shoes disappeared less often after that.

Luna sensed that she had sent Penelope on a trip down memory lane and amended her question.

"I just meant, you made them to protect me and I'd like them to have one each so I can protect them too."

Penelope couldn't find any words to express how grateful she was. She only nodded with tears in her eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

April ended too soon. Tensions in the house were high and no one could explain it.

Luna immediately accepted her role of being Lucy's godmother and had taken to helping Penelope with the twins whenever possible. The Weasleys had even started to get jealous of the amount of time Luna spent with the twins. Luna had even almost gotten into an _argument _with George on who got to hold their goddaughter.

"You've held her long enough, George."

"I helped _birth_ this baby, I think I have rights to hold her for half an hour."

Everything changed when word came that there had just been a break in at Gringotts. By Harry Potter none-the-less.

The Weasley family scrambled to find order while trying to figure out just what was happening. Their questions were answered when Ginny pulled out her galleon and read it to the family.

'_He's back. Need reinforcements. It ends tonight.'_

_That_ had created a new kind of frenzy within Aunt Muriel's home. By the time everyone had their plans set, Penelope was left rocking the twins in their cot. She was conflicted. Did she go to fight? Or did she stay and take care of her only children?

George and Fred opened the door without warning and shut it in the same moment.

Fred walked right up to her and said, "You need to stay."

"No-", she tried to reason with him but he cut her off.

"You're the only thing they've got. You need to stay, Penelope." George nodded behind his twin.

"I'm not going to stand back while you all fight! It's not right!"

Fred shook his head, "It's not right to leave them _orphans, _Penelope! That's not right!"

"I'm smarter than-"

Fred cut her off, "_Percy_ was smarter than all of them and look at him now!"

It was as if he'd slapped her.

"_Fred." _She croaked brokenly and she scrambled to get away from him.

"If we find out you leave, we're going to find you and bring you _right_ _back_, so don't waste our time. Your daughters need you." They left her room in seconds.

She stood with her hands fisted in her robes until the last 'crack' of a hurried disapparation filled her ears.

* * *

George stumbled out of the portrait hole that led to the Room of Requirement. He could hear his mother arguing with Ginny to go back to Aunt Muriel's. He still couldn't believe that they'd talked like that to Penelope. He tried to reason that he'd tried to shock her into staying put, but there was that annoying voice in his mind, the one that sounded eerily like Percy, telling him he shouldn't have done that.

Actually, now that he had tuned back into the conversation around him, he _did_ hear a voice quite like Percy's resonating from the open portrait hole.

"Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I- I-"

Every Weasley in the room stopped. Each one's gaze fell on the man with horn-rimmed glasses and the red scar on his face.

Percy jumped out of the portrait hole and pressed his lips together as he tried to figure out why everyone had stopped moving in the middle of a battle.

The silence was broken by Mrs. Weasley, who released a high pitched screech and threw her arms around her long lost son. His long arms automatically hugged her back.

"_My boy_! You're _alive_!" But before anyone else could move, Percy tore away from his mother with tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Mum, Dad! I- I never meant to say those things! I-" The majority of his siblings didn't let him finish as they converged on him as a whole, all near tears in relief.

Ginny stood on the outside of the circle, her hand in her mouth to stifle sobs. "I'm so sorry for how I treated you, Percy! You magnificent _idiot_! I can't believe you would- You- Penelope said- We thought-" Ginny joined the hug and buried herself in the crook of Percy's arm. The Weasley family was whole once more. Molly resolved to keep it that way. While the rest of his family pulled back from the hug, his mother's hands kept dragging down his face as she sobbed openly saying '_my baby, what happened, oh Percy' _repeatedly.

Percy slowly tugged her hands from his face and wiped at his own tears that had collected behind his glasses. He turned to the rest of his family.

"Where's Penelope?"

Fred spoke quickly, "She's at Muriel's house, taking care of the girls. She wanted to come but we told her to stay put."

Percy felt the breath leave him in one blow. His _girls…_ He grinned stupidly, "My _girls_? They're both girls, then! What did she name them? How are they? Are they healthy? When were they born?" He shot off the questions rapidly, filled with adrenaline.

"Would you like to go see them now?" Arthur spoke up. He had thought it was a brilliant idea until his son's grin slowly faded into a troubled frown.

"No… Not yet," before he could be interrupted, he continued, "Pen'd never stay there if she knew I was here. I want her safe, away from the battle."

Ginny felt conflicted and tried to convince him to go to his wife, "But, Percy, she was so sad- You should've seen her when she-"

"I've worked so hard to keep her safe, I'm not ruining it in one night."

His voice was strong and Arthur was that much prouder of his son.

George tilted his head, "How did you know to come?"

"Well, I actually made contact with Aberforth Dumbledore, he's the reason I'm alive, really, and he told me about ten minutes ago, so I couldn't just stand by while you all were here." Percy looked to the ground until George swung an arm over his shoulders.

"Well, we do look to our prefects to take lead at times such as these," he paused, "Now, c'mon, before all the good Death Eaters are taken!" Fred, George, Bill, Fleur, and Percy quickly exited the room.

The chaos of struggling-to-escape students was the first thing they saw when the doors opened.

* * *

Penelope quieted the crying Lucy with a quick bottle. The twins were as restless as she was. Her heart ached as she made up her mind. She wouldn't- she _couldn't_ just stand by as her _family_ fought the most evil wizard of all time.

She turned back to the wide awake twins. "I'm so sorry, Sweets. With any luck, I'll be back by morning."

"I love you both so much. But I have to help. The future won't be kind to you if we fail tonight."

Molly blinked up at her mother while Lucy downed the bottle. They made soft, babbling noises and Penelope ran her hand through Molly's hair before she placed Lucy back with her sister. She gave both twins a kiss on the forehead before she found Muriel in the den.

"I had no idea you were still here." Muriel snapped at her. Penelope gripped her wand in her hand.

"Yes, well, I'm leaving now. Please take care of my twins."

Muriel glared and nodded and Penelope stepped outside before she apparated into the Hog's Head.

When she dropped into the Room of Requirement, she was surprised to find Luna waiting for her with Harry Potter himself, wanting to know about a diadem.

* * *

Percy, Fred, George, and Lee stood over a crude map of the castle.

"George and Lee can cover this side," Fred pointed to the far side of the castle, "We have a lot, _a lot_, of Whiz-Bangs that can hold off some of the creatures from the forest."

"And you and I can take the other side, near this corridor here, so they can't break through the windows there." Percy nodded. It'd been his idea to separate the twins so they wouldn't be distracted.

"Exactly."

After a quick not-goodbye, the brothers and their friend shot off in different directions.

"Fred- please, tell me about my daughters." Percy huffed as he ran alongside his brother.

"They- They're adorable. Safe. You can see them yourself when we get back."

Percy rolled his eyes as they rounded a corner. His eyes widened significantly as he saw his former boss standing in front of him. He felt Fred's presence right behind him, ready to back him up.

"Hello Minister!" Percy saw Ron out of the corner of his eye but focused on the opponent who kept firing spells at him, "Did I mention I resigned?"

He heard Fred laugh from behind him and grinned triumphantly when his old boss turned into a sea urchin.

His heart nearly stopped when he heard a familiar 'eep' coming from the end of the hall.

* * *

Penelope watched as Luna was whisked away from her by a boy with sandy brown hair and another boy with the Hufflepuff crest on his tattered robe.

"Be careful!" She cried as they exited the castle and started cutting through the chaos on the grounds. She heard a scream and gripped her wand as she rounded a corner. A burly man on a broomstick dodged her expertly before turning around to see her.

His eyes locked on her face in shock. "I thought you were dead!" A curse flew above their heads and the moment was over.

"_Flipendo_!" Her spell threw a Death Eater through a window and Oliver stunned two more.

"Nice to see you- too, Ollie!" She shouted between the curses she was tossing out the broken. "Is Katie here-_!_"

He frowned when he spotted Mandrakes being thrown from Ravenclaw Tower.

"She's out on the grounds. By the pitch, with Angelina and Alicia. I've got to find her, you alright here, Penny?"

"Just fine. Be safe, Woodie." She nodded through a hex and he was gone. She finished off the Death Eater with half a mask by stunning him quite harshly. Her heart pounded and her mind raced. What should she do? Where should she go? Should she find the Weasleys? Where were Fred and George?

The castle shook and she made her decision. To the Great Hall. But as she raced down stairs and across halls, a surge of tears arose and blurred her vision.

She groaned loudly and wiped at her face.

_Stop crying. Why are you crying?!_ She slowed her run to a walk and the flames of an _incendio_ almost caught her in the face. She couldn't help the 'eep' that escaped her lips. She moved quickly behind a pillar and as a 're' rolled off a tongue, she knew she was about to die. She saw her years at Hogwarts pass before her eyes, all those precious moments with Percy, and the past months with her daughters filled her mind - her happy baby girls with her dark curly hair and his bright blue eyes.

She wished she hadn't left them orphans. But they wouldn't be alone. They'd have each other and Penelope knew the entire Weasley family was already wrapped around their tiny fingers. She thought of Percy and welcomed death as her ears picked up the sound of 'ducto!'.

Followed quickly by a loud '_Protego!'_

Her clammy skin went cold.

"_Stupefy!"_

That_ voice._

She bounded from behind the pillar and she struggled to keep her composure as dark red hair and horn-rimmed glasses entered her vision. It couldn't be. She'd seen him dead on the ground. She'd almost _touched him_. But there he was.

He fixed his lopsided glasses and his breath caught in his throat when his eyes finally caught hers.

She screamed but no sound left her lips.

Everything else vanished; the battle cries, the rumbling floors, the screams, there was only Percy.

Before she knew it, she was wrapped up in his arms, sobbing and clutching at his coat. He brought them both to their knees and buried his face in her neck. She pulled his head back to get a good look at him. There was a bright red line across his face but he was _Percy_ and he was _alive_, and in one swift move, she reveled in the familiar feel of his lips on hers.

She heard an enraged huff from a few meters away.

"What are you doing here?!" Fred shouted.

Percy pulled them off the ground and steadied her.

She laughed and cried as her feet met the ground. She placed her hands on either side of Percy's face and pulled him down to meet her lips once more. She felt him grinning into the kiss and she laughed and pulled away. _You're alive._

"I've missed you." His voice was so rough and Penelope restrained herself from breaking down right then and there.

"I thought you were _dead_." She wailed and held him tightly.

Fred, despite his anger at Penelope for disobeying a direct order, grinned and waved at Ron, Harry, and Hermione as they entered the corridor; he quickly made his way to his little brother and his friends, who were wheezing.

Penelope turned to face Fred and shouted, "Am I crazy?"

Percy answered her as he pulled her flush against him, "Not at the moment, but I'm sure you'll be back to normal soon."

Fred released a barking laugh. "Percy! You're joking! I don't think I've heard you joke since you were-"

And it all went to hell.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Happy Birthday Percy Ignatius Weasley! I'm a bit sorry to upload this kind of chapter on his birthday. Please review, we're almost done and this is where the endings may not be so happy.

* * *

Fred helped Ron to his feet. He'd be feeling that in the morning.

"Are you alright?" He asked seriously. Ron brushed off dust and pebbles from his face and nodded. Fred turned back to where Percy and Penelope had been standing.

"Perce?"

They weren't there. He strained his eyes and noticed Percy struggling to pull himself upright. He felt his legs move of their own accord and his arms dig through the rubble to reach them but his vision blurred as he and Ron pushed aside rubble with frantic movements.

"_Penny_! Pen, no!" His brother's voice grated against his ears. He dropped to his knees beside his older brother and the woman who never ceased to surprise him. Percy's right leg was bent heinously back. Percy's glasses were lost, but he, Ron, and Fred were focused on frantically pushing off a large chunk of stone that had settled over Penelope's legs.

Fred and Ron watched in horror as Percy tried to wake his feebly-stirring wife. Her face was covered in hot blood. Percy pulled his wand from his sleeve and hurriedly healed the gash on her head. His hands shook.

"Oww-" she whimpered highly, but didn't open her eyes. Fred released an outraged roar as Percy held tightly to his feebly stirring wife and Ron was turning a deep red next to him. Fred spun around looking for the cause of this horrible pain. They would pay, they would _die_ for hurting his family. Curses flew over them and the battle continued when Fred thought it shouldn' have. Harry pushed him to the ground and Hermione held Ron and yelled for Percy and himself to go; to move. But they couldn't.

The girls, what would become of those little girls? Oh, would they hate him for watching their mother die? Oh they would, he'd lose them. Percy would take them away and he'd never see them again.

And then there were spiders and curses and he finally regained his mind and pulled Penelope out of Percy's tight hold. Harry and Ron hoisted Percy from the wreckage. A niche in the corridor was a welcomed sight and they placed Percy there before handing him Penelope. Fred thought he had felt Penelope stir in his arms as he placed the woman with the long curly hair beside her husband but he couldn't trust his mind in such a moment.

"Go," Percy hissed and held one hand over a thick gash across his leg, "Go on!"

"_What_?! No! You're hurt, you can't defend yourselves!" Fred shook his head furiously.

"We won't have to, I promise! And I've still got my wand. But you need to find George! And then check on Ginny," Percy panted harshly and pulled Penelope closer as she started whimpering, "_I can handle this_! Now, go, Fred!"

He tore his eyes away from them and made sure they were well-hidden before he stepped out from behind the tapestry. He wanted nothing but to find George.

* * *

_"This is all so exciting, isn't it? I mean, look at all the magic here! I've never seen so many wizards in once place." Penelope smiled and pulled Percy's hand towards her and her flatmate Esmerelda's teensy tent near the edge of the wood. The girls had put their meager saved up pocket money together and bought two tickets and a plot for the Quidditch World Cup. Both girls adored the sport. Penelope was especially happy when she found out Percy would be attending. _

_"Yes, look at all the magic. It's a wonder the Obliviators haven't been driven mad by exhaustion yet. The muggles may be blind to most magic, but the Cup is certainly drawing a lot of attention. I'm surprised no one has called out for a witch hunt yet." Percy scowled at the Irish fans' fluorescent, flashing tents._

_Penelope shoved him lightly and laughed, "I'm more surprised I managed to pry you away from Mr. Crouch for five minutes."_

_Percy scoffed and shoved her back, "You're far more pleasant to be with, Pen. Plus, I don't see you half as much as I would like to."_

_She nearly crashed into a gaggle of rambunctious children but she pulled herself back on course before their tiny toy wands could poke her in the shins. She made a face at her boyfriend but he feigned ignorance. _

_"Well, we've all been a bit busy now that we're really out in the world now. I do wish we could see each other more often. Obscurus has me reading so many drafts. I'm beginning to suspect they work me so hard so that I'll never have the time to write one of my own." Penelope stopped pulling his arm and led him into her tent. It was a small tent, with a small bathroom and a living area. It smelled a lot like Esmerelda's mother's floral perfume. Percy grimaced. _

_Penelope laughed, "Daisy lost her sense of smell as she aged, so she overcompensates." She cast an Air Freshening charm and the smell lifted a bit. _

_"It's so..." He gestured to the floral print that looked as though it had been added to just about everything._

_"If only she'd go blind, too, then I would change this hideous print. Ezzy thinks it's awful too."_

_The sound of people cheering and beginning to stampede towards the pitch made the duo go back outside to investigate. _

_"I didn't realize… it's almost time..." Percy frowned and pulled his girlfriend into a brief hug before he kissed her soundly at the entrance of the tent. "I'll meet you here tonight, alright?"_

_"Sounds good."_

-oOo-

"I love you."

"Don't speak, darling. You'll be alright."

-oOo-

_There was a lot of fire. Esmerelda had already run off to find her mother and brother. Penelope watched as the muggles were tortured in the air and steeled herself to face whatever may come her way. She desperately wished her apparating skills were more reliable. There was no way she'd be able to do it without leaving her leg or arm behind under this kind of stress. She clutched the small tent post with her left hand and held her wand at the ready in her right. The marching masked attackers were spreading out from the center and coming towards the outskirts of the camp. _

_She let out an involuntary gasp when the Dark Mark rose into the air. She knew what it was. Percy had told her all about his childhood memories during the war. That mark meant death. _

_Where was Percy? Was he alright? She had to find out. _

_Penelope ran in the direction she had seen Percy leave in and shouted his name in hopes of him running into her. She passed burning tents and a few masked men as she sprinted away. She launched a few stunners at a man harassing a scared group of small children who had been separated from their parents. They all missed. She'd been wonderful at DADA theory but the practical always brought her down a few points. He turned to her, giving the children the chance to escape unnoticed._

_"Leave them alone!" Penelope shot off another round of stunning spells at the man but he was too quick and defended himself. She was already winded from her running and she was not winning this fight. She had to move to the defensive side. A bright red light swept by her face and she almost started crying. She was much too young, too inexperienced in the world for this. _

_"Percy!"_

-oOo-

"Percy -take care of the girls."

"P-Pen, please, don't speak."

"Tell 'em I-I love 'em."

"You can tell them when we get back." He couldn't stop his eyes from tearing up.

-oOo-

_Maybe she could do it. She knew the steps._

_Destination. _

_Determination. _

_Deliberation. _

_Oh, how she wished she could apparate without fear of splinching. She had barely passed her exam, for Merlin's sake._

_She fought back tears as her wand was torn from her frozen hand._

_"What's your surname, girl?"_

_She spit at the masked man. _

_He pointed his wand at her face. "Your name or your life."_

_She thought fast and whispered, "...Weasley."_

_"Ah, a Muggle-lover then?"_

_"A witch."_

_"A blood traitor... What a waste."_

_In the midst of chaos, Penelope had managed to get herself captured by a Death Eater. A particularly sadistic one, at that. His wand lingered at the tip of her nose. _

_"Stupefy!"_

_The wand in front of her face flew to the left, as did her attacker, who dropped to the fiery ground- unconscious from the powerful magic._

_She felt mobility return to her legs and arms and fell to her knees. In seconds, she was wrapped up in arms and pulled into the wood behind her tent. _

Penelope's memories melded with the present as she felt the darkness creep up on her. "I love you."

_"Penelope, are you alright?"_

"I love you too," he felt his throat tighten as he pulled up his left sleeve, "I got your message."

_"I'm fine, Percy." She whispered in shock._

On his arm, the words '_Come back to me. I need you. I love you. Can you hear me?' _were written in her angry, black handwriting.

"_Can you apparate home?"_

"Wow... That- is a clever trick...When did you add th-that bit?"

_She shook her head and hugged him tightly._

"Last year. Just in case. Only works for you."

_"What happened, Pen?"_

"I go-got that mes-sage f-from you first. B-Back in sixth year-"

Her eyes shut and he shook her a tiny bit, "I'm glad. Stay awake."

_"Say something!" He shook her back and forth until she met his eyes._

He sobbed. "Please. It's been awhile since I've seen you- stay awake."

"_I'm fine, Percy."_

"I'm fine, Percy."

**_"You are not."_**

* * *

"George! Where are you?!"

He could hear Ron arguing with Harry and Hermione about finding the one who did this, but he couldn't see the point anymore. Why choose one when there were so many to be blamed? Where the hell was George?

It took him twenty horrible minutes to find his twin. George and Lee had grinned when they saw him but Fred only frowned deeply as the hour past caught up to his emotionally drained mind. His arms swung around his twin in a harsh hug. He dry sobbed against his twin's shoulder.

George understood immediately, hugged Fred back, and muttered, "Who?"

Fred didn't answer straight away. He only gripped George harder.

"Freddie- who?" George's voice quivered and they stood apart to have a good look at each other.

"We've got to get-" The chilling voice of Lord Voldemort filled the school, from the Astronomy Tower to the most hidden dungeon, interrupting Fred.

"You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses," Fred let out a small choking noise, "If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful."

"I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured." Fred started sprinting towards the niche where he had left Percy and Penelope. George and Lee shared a look before running after him.

Fred's heart pounded loudly in his chest when Voldemort told Harry to give himself up. He shivered in his run as the menace promised to join in the fight if he didn't reveal himself in an hour. _Don't do it Harry, don't make this for nothing._

He slid down a banister to reach the empty, cold corridor. The rubble mocked him and the trio climbed over fallen pillars and masses of wall to get to the niche. Fred pulled the tapestry away from the niche and he and George filed in as Lee gave them their moment. George gasped at the sight; while Fred stared in disbelief, his mouth wide open.

"ake..up. 'ake..up-" A bloody hand tapped gently against the stained robes beside him. Percy's voice could hardly be classified as a whisper as they'd only heard it once they'd stopped moving. Through the darkness, Fred could make out Percy's eyes drooping slowly and his head struggled to stay up.

"_Dah..ling, wake_-up."

The twins stood silent before crying out in tandem as they rushed the pair on the ground. George called Lee inside to help him carry Percy to the Great Hall while Fred muttered constantly to Penelope for her to wake up as they raced to the hall. Her eyelashes twitched.

The entire Weasley family was there to greet them. They were found weeping as Ron had told them what he'd seen.

"They're alive, Mum, Dad! They're _alive_!" Fred exclaimed. Mrs. Weasley screamed when she saw Percy battered and bloodied and Bill and Charlie rushed to help set the two down. Molly ran a hand over her third eldest's forehead and pushed his hair from his face.

"My Percy…" She wiped away the blood from his face and began to assess his injuries. "Oh, Percy! Not again, never again!"

Penelope whimpered and Fred strained to hear what she was saying.

"-ake care- th' 'irls…" Her mouth stopped moving.

Fred whimpered, _no no wake up, Penelope, wake up,_ and kept his fingers over her broken wrist; but- they were alive. Not dead, not _dead_.


End file.
